How did the states in Australia get their names?

Answer 1

• New South Wales: James Cook, who was the first European to chart the area, named the entire eastern coast of Australia New South Wales because the countryside bore a resemblance (in his mind) to parts of southern Wales.
• Victoria: The state of Victoria was named for Queen Victoria, the ruling monarch at the time Victoria separated from New South Wales.
• Queensland: Queensland was also named for Queen Victoria.
• Tasmania: The state of Tasmania was named after Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, considered to be the first European explorer to sail past the island (which, at the time, he believed was part of the mainland). Tasman originally named Tasmania "Antony Van Diemen's Land", or Van Diemen's Land, in honour of the High Magistrate, or Governor-General of Batavia. Van Diemen's Land remained the name of the island until 1 January 1856, when Queen Victoria approved a petition to rename the island Tasmania, in honour of its discoverer.
• Western Australia and South Australia: These two states wee named for their geographical positions. South Australia is in the south and Western Australia takes up the Western third of the continent.
• Northern Territory: One of Australia's two mainland territories, e Northern Territory was also named for the fact that it is in the north.
• Australian Capital Territory: When land was ceded by New South Wales for the purpose of the new federal capital, this territory was originally named the Territory for the Seat of Government. However, government documents and enterprises variously referred to it as the Australian Capital Territory, the Federal Territory of Australia or other variations. With most other names considered too cumbersome, the name of Australian Capital Territory was formally adopted in 1938.