The city of Perth in Western Australia was named by Captain James Stirling in 1829 after Perth, Scotland, in honor of the birthplace and parliamentary seat in the British House of Commons of Sir George Murray, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, was named in honor of Sir Thomas Brisbane (lived 1773–1860), who was a British soldier and colonial administrator; Sir Thomas was born in Ayrshire, Scotland. He served as Governor of New South Wales at the time when Brisbane was named. Prior to European settlement, Brisbane was occupied by various Aboriginal tribes.

This is a history of the city of Sydney. The area surrounding Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) was home to Aboriginal tribes since 40,000 years ago or more. Although urbanisation has destroyed most evidence of these settlements, there are still rock carvings in several locations.

Melbourne, now the capital city of the state of Victoria in Australia, was founded in 1835. The exact circumstances of the foundation of Melbourne, and the question of who should take credit for its foundation, have long been matters of dispute.