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Western Australia is Australia's largest state in area, covering the western third of the mainland, and is bordered by South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is, after the Sakha Republic in Russia, the second largest subnational entity (statoid) in the world. The capital city, Perth, is the most isolated city of over one million people in the world, being 2,104 km (1307 miles) from Adelaide. Perth is closer to Jakarta, Indonesia (3,007 km/1,868 miles) than it is to Sydney (3,284 km/2,041 miles).

The people of Western Australia, West Australians or Western Australians, are often colloquially referred to as sandgropers because of the insect found on sand dunes around Perth.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Western Australia
The bulk of Western Australia consists of the extremely old Yilgarn craton and Pilbara craton which merged with the Deccan of India, Madagascar and the Karoo and Zimbabwe cratons of South Africa, in the Archean Eon to form Ur, one of the oldest Supercontinents on Earth (3,200-3,000 million years ago). Because the only mountain-building since then has been of the Stirling Range with the rifting from Antarctica, the land is extremely eroded and ancient, with no part of the State today above 1,245 metres (4,085 ft) AHD (at Mount Meharry in the Hamersley Range of the Pilbara region). Most parts of the State form a low plateau with an average elevation of about 400 metres (1,200 ft), very low relief, and no surface runoff. This descends relatively sharply to the coastal plains, in some cases forming a sharp escarpment (as with the Darling Range/Darling Scarp near Perth).

The extreme age of the landscape has meant that the soils are remarkably infertile and frequently laterised. Even soils derived from granitic bedrock contain an order of magnitude less available phosphorus and only half as much nitrogen as soils in comparable climates in other continents. Soils derived from extensive sandplains or ironstone are even less fertile, being even more devoid of soluble phosphate and also deficient in zinc, copper, molybdenum and sometimes potassium and calcium.

Western Australian cities, towns, settlements and road networkThe infertility of most of the soils has required heavy inputs of chemical fertilisers, particularly superphosphate, insecticides and herbicides, which, with the ensuing damage to invertebrate and bacterial populations, and compaction of soils through heavy machinery and hoofed mammals has done great damage to the fragile soils. The massive clearing of the land has not only damaged habitats for native flora and fauna, making the South West region of the state that with the greatest percentage of flora and fauna rare, threatened or endangered in Australia, and one of the biodiversity "hot spots" in the world, it has also led to major problems with dryland salinity and the loss of fresh water.

The southwest coastal area is relatively temperate and was originally heavily forested, including large stands of the karri, one of the tallest trees in the world. This agricultural region of Western Australia is in the top nine terrestrial habitats for terrestrial biodiversity with a higher proportion of endemic species than most other equivalent regions, and thanks to the offshore Leeuwin Current, numbers in the top six regions for marine biodiversity, containing the most southerly coral reefs in the world. Annual rainfall varies from 300 millimetres (12 in) at the edge of the Wheatbelt region to 1,400 millimetres (55 inches) in the wettest areas near Northcliffe, but in the months of November to March evaporation exceeds rainfall and it is generally very dry. Plants must be adapted to this as well as the extreme poverty of all soils. A major reduction in rainfall has been observed, with a greater number of rainfall events in the summer months (see Southwest corner of Western Australia). This may be due to Climate change.

The central four-fifths of the State is semi-arid or desert, and is lightly inhabited with the only significant activity being mining. Annual rainfall here averages about 200 to 250 millimetres (8–10 in) but is very erratic because most of it is produced in torrential falls by cyclones in the summer months that are often unreliable.

An exception to this is the northern tropical regions. The Kimberley has an extremely hot monsoonal climate with average annual rainfall ranging from 500 to 1,500 millimetres (20–60 in), but there is a very long almost rainless season from April to November. Almost all (85%) of the State's runoff occurs in the Kimberley, but because it occurs in violent floods and the insurmountable poverty of the generally shallow soils, the only development has taken place along the Ord River with an ambitious scheme that has only recently begun to pay off.

Snow is only a regular occurrence on the Stirling Range near Albany, as it is the only mountain range far enough south and with sufficient elevation. More rarely, snow can fall on the Porongurup Range. Snow outside these areas is a major event; it usually occurs in hilly areas of southwestern Australia. The most widespread low-level snow occurred on 26 June 1956 when snow was reported in the Perth hills, as far north as Wongan Hills and as far east as Salmon Gums. However, even in the Stirling Range, snowfalls rarely exceed 5 cm (2 in) and rarely settle for more than one day.

Highest maximum temperature: 50.5 °C (122.9 °F), Mardie, Pilbara, 61.6 kilometres (38.3 mi) from Barrow Island, 19 February 1998

Lowest minimum temperature: -6.7 °C (19.9 °F), Booylgoo Springs, 187.3 kilometres (116.4 mi) from Meekatharra, 12 July 1969

History

Main article: History of Western Australia
Main article: Aboriginal History of Western Australia

John Forrest was the first Premier of Western AustraliaThe first inhabitants of Australia arrived from the north approximately 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. Over thousands of years they eventually spread across the whole landmass. These Indigenous Australians were well established throughout Western Australia by the time European ships started accidentally arriving en-route to Batavia (now Jakarta) in the early seventeenth century.

The first European to visit Western Australia was a Dutch explorer, Dirk Hartog who on 26 October 1616 landed at (what is now known as) Cape Inscription, Dirk Hartog Island. For the rest of the 17th century there were many other Dutch travellers who also, usually unintentionally, encountered the coast. By the late 1700s, British and French sailors had also begun to explore the Western Australian coast.

The origins of the present state began with the establishment of a British settlement at King George Sound in 1826 (later named Albany from 1832). The settlement was founded in response to concern about the possibility of a French colony being established on the coast of Western Australia.

In 1829, the Swan River Colony was established on the Swan River by Captain James Stirling. By 1832, the British settler population of the colony had reached around 1,500. The two separate townsites of the colony developed slowly into the port city of Fremantle and the Western Australian capital city Perth.

Population growth was very slow until significant discoveries of gold were made in the 1890s around Kalgoorlie.

In 1887, a new constitution including the right of self-governance was drafted and in 1890, the Act granting self-government for the colony was passed by the British House of Commons and assented to by Queen Victoria.

The colony eventually became a state of Australia on 1 January 1901.

People

Western Australia's capital city, Perth, on the Swan River, home to three quarters of the state's populationThe first inhabitants of what is now Western Australia were Indigenous Australians, from a wide variety of language and kin groups — for example, the Nyungah in the south west, the Wongai in the central Desert, the Malkana in Shark Bay. These groups retain significant presences throughout the state and, in some areas — e.g., the Kimberley — continue to form the majority of the local population.

Europeans began to settle permanently in 1826 when Albany was founded by the British to forestall French claims to the western third of the continent. Perth was founded as the Swan River Colony in 1829 by British and Irish settlers, though the outpost languished, eventually requesting convict labour to augment its population. Even with this, Western Australia did not receive significant flows of migrants from Britain, Ireland or elsewhere in the British Empire until the early twentieth century when local projects — such as the Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920s which encouraged farmers to settle the south west — increased awareness of Australia's western third as a destination for colonists. Western Australia also benefitted demographically from a mining boom in the Goldfields underpinned by interstate migration from the 1890s onward.

Led by migrants from the British Isles, Western Australia's population developed exponentially during the twentieth century, though at a much slower pace than other parts of Australia. Nonetheless, like the eastern states, Western Australia received large numbers of Italians, Yugoslavs and Greeks after the Second World War. Despite this, settlers from Britain have contributed the greatest number of migrants to this day, and Western Australia — particularly Perth — has the highest proportion of British-born of any state: 10.9 per cent in 2001, compared to a national average of 5.3 per cent. This group is heavily concentrated in certain parts of the metropolitan area such as Joondalup where they account for a quarter of the population.

In terms of ethnic groups, 2001 census data reveal that Western Australia is highly diverse: the largest single group was those reporting English ancestry or ethnicity, accounting for 733,783 responses (32.7 per cent), followed by "Australian" (presumably Anglo-Celtic) with 624,259 (27.8 per cent), Irish with 171,667 (7.6 per cent), Italian with 96,721 (4.3 per cent), Scottish with 62,781 (2.8 per cent), German with 51,672 (2.3 per cent) and Chinese with 48,894 responses (2.2 per cent). There were 58,496 Indigenous Australians in Western Australia in 2001, forming 3.1 per cent of the population.

In terms of birthplace, 32.9 per cent of the population were born overseas — far higher than the Australian average of 23.1 per cent. 10.9 per cent of West Australians were born in Britain, 2.4 per cent were born in New Zealand and 1.2 per cent were born in Italy.

Perth's metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1.50 million in 2006 which was almost three quarters of the state's population. The Perth metropolitan area has grown to include the port of Fremantle and the town of Rockingham. Other important or well-known centres include Mandurah (pop. 54,000), Bunbury, Kalgoorlie, Albany, Geraldton, Port Hedland and Broome, but these are all relatively small cities or towns.

Economy

Kalgoorlie Super Pit, Australia's largest open-cut gold mineWestern Australia has the highest per capita output of any Australian state, with an economy that has been largely based on the extraction and export of mining and petroleum commodities, especially, iron, alumina, natural gas, nickel and gold. Western Australia is a leading alumina extractor, producing more than 20% of the world's alumina. It is also the world's third-largest iron ore producer, producing around 15% of the world's total iron ore output. Western Australia also extracts up to 75% of Australia's 240 tonnes of gold. Diamonds are extracted at Argyle diamond mine in the North West. Coal is mined at Collie and used for domestic power production.

Western Australia's economy recently has benefited from an unprecedented amount of foreign demand for resources, particularly from China. This has contributed to strong GSP growth. Perth has emerged as a significant administration centre for businesses in the mineral and oil and gas industries.

Agricultural exports are also important (amounting to approximately 3% of GSP), especially wheat, barley and sheep products such as wool and meat. Approximately 50% of Australia's live cattle exports come from WA. In recent years, tourism has grown in importance, with the majority of visitors coming from the United Kingdom and Ireland, Singapore, Japan and Malaysia.

Western Australia, with about 10% of Australia's population, has historically generated approximately 30% of Australia's export revenues, however the recent commodities boom has pushed this figure to now exceed 40%. The State now generates more export income than New South Wales and Victoria (Australia's two most populous states) combined. High incomes, strong corporate activity, lower unemployment, mineral revenue and a younger population mean that Western Australia provides a significant financial subsidy to all other states. The economic boom in Western Australia is so strong that a significant labour shortage has emerged. The state government has launched an appeal for more people to move to the growing state at www.gowestnow.com. Very high levels of job vacancies have emerged and unless skilled workers can be found, the state government fears that significant economic opportunities may be lost.

This boom has also caused a massive rise in property values. Average residential property increased in value by over 40% in 2006, however values have remained rather flat in 2007. Perth property is now the second most valuable in Australia behind Sydney. Large projects continue to fuel the economy and population growth continues to push rental prices up.

Significant refining and manufacturing industries are located within the state and are continuing to grow strongly with the state's booming economy. These include Liquified natural gas production mainly for export to Asia, Petro chemicals and fertilizer Production in the North West Shelf region. In September 2007, Hu Jintao, the President of China visited Western Australia and committed to the purchase of AUD$45 Billion worth of gas over a lengthy period. This is the largest export contract Australia has ever had.

A major heavy industrial area is located south of Perth at Kwinana. Oil Refining is conducted here along with an ironplant owned by Rio Tinto. Alumina and Nickel are also produced in Kwinana. Shipbuilding is conducted at Austal yards in Henderson south of Fremantle. Several heavy and light engineering and metal fabrication factories are located in Perth catering for the demands of the mining industry. Other light industries include cement and building product manufacturing, flour milling, food processing, animal feed production, automotive body building, printing and boat building.

Several major along with smaller specialised breweries are located mainly in Perth including Swan Brewery at Canning Vale, Carlton United Brewing at Mosman Bay others include Little Creatures Brewery in Fremantle and Gage Roads Brewery also Fremantle. Western Australia also has major wine producing regions in the South West located in the Margaret River region and Swan Valley. Several wineries produce wine for local consumption and international export.

Western Australia has a significant fishing industry that produces fish for local consumption and foreign export including Western Rock Lobsters, Prawns, Crabs, Shark and Tuna. Processing is conducted along the west coast. Whaling ceased at Albany in 1978.

Perth is a centre for banking and finance, and includes state head offices for all major banks, Commonwealth, National Australia Bank, Westpac and ANZ. It is also home to the Head Office of Woodside Petroleum and has major offices for Rio Tinto, BHP and Western Mining Corporation. Perth is Australia's main centre for mining and oil and gas administration. Several insurance companies have large offices in Perth including AXA, Aviva, AMP and SGIO.

Hay Street, PerthPerth has the biggest retail sector in the state with retail outlets being found mainly in Hay, Murray and Wellington Streets. Several large shopping malls are located in the suburbs at Garden City, Karrinyup, Morley and Cannington. Department stores include Myer and David Jones. Fremantle is also a retail centre catering for local and tourist needs.

Retail trade is tightly regulated and there are strict restrictions on the hours that stores are allowed to open. Major stores are restricted to open between 8:00am and 6:00 p.m. weekdays except Thursdays in the suburbs where closing time is 9:00pm. On Saturdays stores are open from 8:00 am to 5:00pm. A referendum was held on 26 February 2005 on the issue of allowing weekday trading to 9pm and 6 hours of trade on Sundays; the referendum was defeated.

Exemptions to this are granted for designated tourist precincts of the Perth city centre, Fremantle and major regional centres: these are allowed to trade on Sundays from 12:00pm until 5:00pm. The Perth City area has Friday night trading until 9:00pm.