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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 one of the most isolated cities of its size on the planet, being closer to Jakarta (3,007 km) than to Sydney (3,284 km). West Australians are often colloquially referred to as sandgropers due to the sandy soils around Perth .
Geography 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 1245 metres 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 (1200 feet), 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. The 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 hoved 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. (See Southwest Australia) 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 inches) at the edge of the wheatbelt to 1400 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. Climate change is producing a major reduction in rainfall, with a greater number of rainfall events in the summer months. (see Southwest corner of Western Australia) 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 to 10 inches) 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 1500 millimetres (20 to 60 inches), 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. Highest maximum temperature: 50.5 °C (122.9 °F), Mardie, Pilbara, 61.6 km (38.3 miles) from Barrow Island, 19 February 1998 Lowest minimum temperature: -6.7 °C (19.9 °F), Booylgoo Springs, 187.3 km (116.4 miles) from Meekatharra, 12 July 1969 * History The 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, English and French sailors had also begun to explore the Western Australian coast. The present state has its origins in the expropriation of Aboriginal land by the British settlement known as the Swan River Colony, founded at Perth in 1829 (although the first British settlement occurred in Albany in 1826). Population growth was very slow until significant discoveries of gold were made in the 1890s around Kalgoorlie. The colony eventually became a state of Australia on 1 January 1901. People Since the settlement in 1829 of the Swan River Colony by the British, many immigrants have continued to be of British origin, outnumbered only by arrivals from other Australian states. Today Australian Aboriginal people number over 1.5% of the population and are rapidly growing despite having mean average life expectancy rates more than 20 years less than the average non Aboriginal Australian. There has also been significant immigration from New Zealand and South Africa. Small numbers of Southeast Asian (especially ethnic Chinese) immigrants began to arrive in Western Australia in the mid to late 19th century, attracted to the goldfields. Western Australia was the last colony which accepted convicts, and the natives of Russia deported from England during the following years would arrive only there. Immigration restrictions (the White Australia Policy) caused non-white immigration to cease in the 1890s. Unlike most other parts of Australia, Western Australia received many migrants from Italy in the 1920's, a time when many Italian immigrants were choosing to go to the United States. Following World War II, immigration to all of Australia from Europe increased, especially from Italy, Yugoslavia, Germany, Russia, and Greece. In the 1970s, a new wave of Asian immigrants, mostly ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese began to arrive in Western Australia. Perth, in particular, paralleled the multicultural experience of other large Australian cities and has become home to people from most of the countries in the world. Presently, 11.9% of Western Australian residents were born in the United Kingdom or Ireland, while 5.3% were born in Asia. In recent years, Western Australia has had the highest overseas migration rates in the nation. Western Australia now has the highest proportion of overseas born citizens in Australia. Interestingly, Perth has developed a significant Japanese population and now has more Japanese nationals with Australian permanent residency than any other city in Australia. Perth's metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1.47 million in 2005 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
Government Western Australia was granted self-government in 1889 with a bicameral House of Parliament, located in Perth, consisting of the Legislative Assembly (or lower house), and the Legislative Council (or upper house). Suffrage is universal and compulsory for Australian citizens residing in Western Australia over 18 years of age. With the federation of the Australian colonies in 1901, Western Australia became a State within Australia's federal structure; this involved ceding certain powers to the Commonwealth (or Federal) government in accordance with the Constitution; all powers not specifically granted to the Commonwealth remained solely with the State, however over time the Commonwealth has effectively expanded its powers through increasing control of taxation and financial distribution. Whilst the sovereign of Western Australia is the Queen of Australia (Queen Elizabeth II), and executive power nominally vested in her State representative the Governor (currently Ken Michael), executive power is effectively administered by the premier and ministers. The premier is Alan Carpenter and ministers are drawn from the party or coalition of parties holding a majority of seats in the lower house of Parliament, (currently Labor). Secession Secessionism has been a recurring feature of Western Australia's political landscape since shortly after European settlement in 1829. Western Australia was the most reluctant participant in the Commonwealth of Australia. . Western Australia did not participate in the earliest federation conference. Longer term residents of Western Australia were generally opposed to federation, however the discovery of gold brought several immigrants from other parts of Australia. It was these residents, primarily in Kalgoorlie but also in Albany that voted to join the Commonwealth, and the proposal of these areas being admitted separately was considered. In a referendum in April 1933, 68% of voters voted for the state to leave the Commonwealth of Australia with the aim of returning to the British Empire as an autonomous territory. The State Government sent a delegation to Westminster, but the British Government refused to intervene and therefore no action was taken to implement this decision. For social and cultural reasons the concept of secession is unlikely to be seriously considered in the future, even though commentators occasionally raise the idea due to economic reasons. Native species
Birds WA is home to around 540 species of birds (depending on the taxonomy you choose to adopt). Of these around 15 are endemic to the state. The best areas for birds are the south-western corner of the state and the area around Broome and the Kimberley. Flora (see ) Western Australia, in its south west region has some of the largest numbers of plant species for its area in the world. Prior to European settlers expanding agriculture, it is speculated that there were significant numbers of flower and plant species that were never described before they became extinct. Algae William Henry Harvey (1811 - 1866) published his magnificent five-volume Phycologia Australia which was issued in parts between 1858 and 1863. He earned the title of father of Australian Phycology. His main collection is in the herbarium of Trinity College Dublin (TCD)., there is also a large collection of his specimens in the Ulster Museum (BEL), Belfast. Education Education in Western Australia consists of one year of pre-school at age 5, followed by seven years of primary school education, ie Years 1 through 7. Students move into Year 8 at age 13 and five years of secondary education. The final two years of secondary education are currently changing to compulsory. All students who completed Year 10 in 2005 are now required to undertake further studies in yr 11. Students are required to complete the year in which they turn 16 (usually yr 11). Commencing in 2008 all students will be required to complete 12 years of study before leaving school. Students will have the option to study at a TAFE college in their eleventh year or continue through high school with a vocational course or a specific University entrance course. The major universities in Western Australia are the University of Western Australia, Edith Cowan University, Curtin University, Murdoch University and the University of Notre Dame. Western Australia has two daily newspapers: the independent tabloid The West Australian and The Kalgoorlie Miner. Also published is one Sunday tabloid newspaper, News Corporation's The Sunday Times. However, the interstate broadsheet publication The Australian is also available, although with sales per capita lagging far behind those in other states. With the advent of the Internet, other online publications from around the world are now easily accessible. Some, like the New South Wales based The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian which provide free access to their sites, are becoming increasingly popular. Television Metropolitan Perth has eight broadcast television stations; Regional WA has a similar availability of stations, with the exception of Access 31 in all areas but Bunbury and Albany. The metropolitans commercial stations are affiliated with: Pay TV services are provided by Foxtel, which acquired many of the assets and all the remaining subscribers of the insolvent Galaxy Television satellite service in 1998. Some metropolitan suburbs are serviced by Pay TV via cable; however, most of the metropolitan and rural areas can only access Pay TV via satellite. Radio The top five radio stations broadcasting in Perth include, (2005 ratings in descending order), Mix 94.5, 720 ABC, 96FM, NOVA 93.7FM and 6PRAM. The regional areas of the state have a number of local broadcasters, and the national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)also has a presence in all regional centres. Across the state, there are over 380 FM broadcast transmitters. (See FM Online listing for WA). Sport A number of national or international sporting teams and events are based in the state, including: Events hosted by Western Australia include the Hopman Cup, the Perth Cup and the Telstra Rally Australia. See also | ||||||||||||
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