The Foundation of Australia's Capital Cities is the story of how the places chosen for Australia's seven colonial capitals came to shape their unique urban character and built environments. Tony Webster traces the effects of each city's geologically diverse coastal or riverine landform and the local natural materials that were available for construction, highlighting how the geology and original landforms resulted in development patterns that have persisted today.

Anthony (Tony) Webster is adjunct senior lecturer of geology at the Centre for Ore Deposits and Earth Sciences (CODES), University of Tasmania and honorary senior research fellow at the Sustainable Minerals Institute (SMI), University of Queensland.