Western Australia

Coordinates: 26°S 121°E / 26°S 121°E / -26; 121
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Western Australia
State
Flag of Western Australia
Flag
Official seal of Western Australia
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): 
  • The Wildflower State
  • The Golden State
Location of Western Australia in Australia
26°S 121°E / 26°S 121°E / -26; 121
Country
Colony of Western Australia
Established as the Swan River Colony2 May 1829
Responsible government21 October 1890
Federation1 January 1901
Capital
and largest city
Perth
Administration139 local government areas
Demonym(s)
  • Western/West Australian
  • West Aussie
  • Sandgroper (colloquial)
Government
• Monarch
Charles III
• Governor
Chris Dawson
• Premier
Roger Cook (Labor)
Legislature
AWST)
  • UTC+08:45 (Eucla, Cocklebiddy, Madura, Mundrabilla; DST not observed)
    • Postal abbreviation
    WA
    ISO 3166 codeAU–WA
    Symbols
    Bird
    Gogo fish

    (Mcnamaraspis kaprios)
    Websitewa.gov.au

    Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost

    second-largest subdivision of any country on Earth.[a]

    Western Australia has a diverse range of climates, including tropical conditions in the

    south-west corner and around 80 percent live in the state capital Perth,[7] leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated. The Trans-Australian Railway and the Eyre Highway traverse the Nullarbor Plain in the state's south-east, providing the principal connection between Western Australia and the population centres in the eastern states
    .

    Western Australia's Indigenous peoples have been present for tens of thousands of years. Dutch explorers visited Western Australia from the 17th century, with Dirk Hartog's 1616 expedition the first Europeans to make landfall. The British claimed Western Australia in 1827 and established the Swan River Colony with Perth as its capital in 1829. The Western Australian gold rushes of the late 19th century resulted in a significant population influx. The colony was granted responsible government in 1890, the last of the Australian colonies to become self-governing, and federated with the other colonies in 1901.

    Western Australia's mining sector is a key driver of the state economy. The late 20th century saw the development of the state's significant iron ore mining industry – the world's largest – as well as primarily offshore petroleum and natural gas resources. Gold mining retains a significant presence and many other mineral commodities are mined, with Perth being a major centre for associated services. Outside of mining, primary industry is the other significant contributor to the state's economy, including agriculture in the Wheatbelt and temperate southern coastal regions, pastoralism in marginal grassland areas, forestry in the south-west and fishing (including pearling and, historically, whaling).

    History

    Main article: History of Western Australia
    See also: French Western Australia

    Western Australia has a geological history dating back to 4.4 billion years ago when Hadean zircons were formed. The earliest direct known life on land, known as stromatolites, started to be created by microbes at around 3.48 billion years ago.

    The first human inhabitants of Australia arrived from the north "over 50,000 years ago and possibly as much as 70,000 years ago".[8]: 5  Over thousands of years they eventually spread across the whole landmass.[citation needed] These Indigenous Australians were long established throughout Western Australia by the time European explorers began to arrive in the early 17th century.

    Map first drawn in 1618 by Hessel Gerritsz, 12 years after Europeans first encountered the Australian mainland,[9] showing the charted coast of Australia. Chartings after 1618, for example by François Thijssen in 1627, were added to the engraved plate between 1628 and 1632.[10]

    The first Europeans to visit Western Australia were those of the Dutch Dirk Hartog expedition, who on 25 October 1616 landed at what is now known as Cape Inscription, Dirk Hartog Island. For the rest of the 17th century, other Dutch and British navigators encountered the coast of what Abel Tasman named New Holland in 1644, usually unintentionally as demonstrated by the many shipwrecks along the coast of ships that deviated from the Brouwer Route (because of poor navigation and storms).[11] By the late 18th century, British and French sailors had begun to explore the Western Australian coast. The Baudin expedition of 1800–03 included the coast of Western Australia and resulted in the Freycinet Map of 1811, the first published map featuring the full outline of Australia. The name New Holland remained in popular and semi-official use until at least the mid-1850s; that is, it was in use for about 206 years in comparison to the name Australia which to date has been in use for about 196 years.[12]: 11 

    Melchisédech Thévenot's Hollandia Nova—Terre Australe in his travel anthology (French: Relations de divers voyages curieux) published in 1664,[13] and which seems to be a copy of Archipelagus Orientalis sive Asiaticus by Joan Blaeu in the Atlas of the Great Elector (German: Atlas des Großen Kurfürsten) from 1659.[14] The latitude staff depicted by Thévenot falls along the Zaragoza antimeridian from the Treaty of Zaragoza of 1529 between Castile and Portugal, and which complemented the Tordesillas meridian from the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494.

    The origins of the present state began with the establishment by Lockyer

    King George III Sound. The settlement was formally annexed on 21 January 1827 by Lockyer when he commanded the Union Jack be raised and a feu de joie fired by the troops. The settlement was founded in response to British concerns about the possibility of a French colony being established on the coast of Western Australia.[15] On 7 March 1831 it was transferred to the control of the Swan River Colony,[16] and named Albany
    in 1832.

    In 1829 the

    James Stirling. By 1832, the British settler population of the colony had reached around 1,500, and the official name of the colony was changed to Western Australia on 6 February that year.[17][18] The two separate townsites of the colony developed slowly into the port city of Fremantle and the state's capital, Perth. York
    was the first inland settlement in Western Australia, situated 97 kilometres (60 mi) east of Perth and settled on 16 September 1831. York was the staging point for early explorers who discovered the rich gold reserves of Kalgoorlie.

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

    John Forrest was the first Premier of Western Australia.

    In 1887, a new constitution was drafted, providing for the right of self-governance of European Australians, and in 1890, the act granting self-government to the colony was passed by the British Parliament. John Forrest became the first Premier of Western Australia.

    In 1896, after discoveries of gold at

    pipeline to transport 23 megalitres (5 million imperial gallons) of water per day to the burgeoning population on the goldfields. The pipeline, known as the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, was completed in 1903.  C. Y.  O'Connor, Western Australia's first engineer-in-chief, designed and oversaw the construction of the pipeline. It carries water 530 km (330 mi) from Perth to Kalgoorlie, and is attributed by historians as an important factor driving the state's population and economic growth.[19]

    Following a campaign led by Forrest, electors of the colony of Western Australia voted in favour of federation with the five other Australian colonies, resulting in Western Australia officially becoming a state on 1 January 1901.[20]

    "West Australia"

    "West Australia" on a 1902 stamp

    "West Australia" and its related demonym "West Australian" are occasionally used, including in the names of the main daily newspaper, The West Australian, and the state-based West Australian Football League, but are rarely used in an official sense. The terms "Westralia" and "Westralian" were regularly used in the 19th and 20th century.[21][22] The terms are still found in the names of certain companies and buildings, e.g. Westralia House in Perth, the skyscraper Westralia Square on St Georges Terrace, and Westralia Airports Corporation, which operates Perth Airport, as well as in the names of several ships.[23][24]

    Geography

    Main article: Geography of Western Australia

    Western Australia is bounded to the east by longitude 129°E, the meridian 129 degrees east of Greenwich, which defines the border with South Australia and the

    body of water south of the continent as part of the Indian Ocean; in Australia it is officially gazetted as the Southern Ocean.[b][25][26]

    The total length of the

    state's eastern border is 1,862 km (1,157 mi).[27] There are 20,781 km (12,913 mi) of coastline, including 7,892 km (4,904 mi) of island coastline.[28] The total land area occupied by the state is 2.5 million km2 (970 thousand sq mi).[29]

    Geology

    The bulk of Western Australia consists of the extremely old

    on land may have been found in 3.48-billion-year-old geyserite and other related mineral deposits (often found around hot springs and geysers) uncovered in the Pilbara craton.[30][31]

    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 above 1,249 metres (4,098 ft) AHD (at Mount Meharry in the Hamersley Range of the Pilbara region). Most of the state is 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).

    Western Australian cities, towns, settlements and road network.

    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, nearly devoid of soluble phosphate and deficient in zinc, copper, molybdenum and sometimes potassium and calcium.

    The infertility of most of the soils has required heavy application by farmers of fertilisers. These have resulted in damage to invertebrate and bacterial populations.[citation needed] The grazing and use of hoofed mammals and, later, heavy machinery through the years have resulted in compaction of soils and great damage to the fragile soils.

    Large-scale land clearing for agriculture has damaged habitats for native flora and fauna. As a result, the South West region of the state has a higher concentration of rare, threatened or endangered flora and fauna than many areas of Australia, making it one of the world's biodiversity "hot spots". Large areas of the state's wheatbelt region have problems with dryland salinity and the loss of fresh water.

    Climate

    Köppen climate types in Western Australia

    The

    endemic species than most other equivalent regions. Thanks to the offshore Leeuwin Current, the area is one of the top six regions for marine biodiversity and contains the most southerly coral reefs
    in the world.

    Average annual rainfall varies from 300 millimetres (12 in) at the edge of the Wheatbelt region to 1,400 millimetres (55 in) in the wettest areas near Northcliffe, but from November to March, evaporation exceeds rainfall, and it is generally very dry. Plants are adapted to this as well as the extreme poverty of all soils.

    The central two-thirds of the state is

    arid and sparsely inhabited. The only significant economic activity is mining. Annual rainfall averages less than 300 millimetres (8–10 in), most of which occurs in sporadic torrential falls related to cyclone events in summer.[33]

    An exception to this is the northern tropical regions. The

    runoff occurs in the Kimberley, but because it occurs in violent floods and because of the insurmountable poverty of the generally shallow soils, the only development has taken place along the Ord River
    .

    Snow is rare in the state and typically occurs only in the Stirling Range near Albany, as it is the only mountain range far enough south and sufficiently elevated. More rarely, snow can fall on the nearby 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.[34]

    The highest observed temperature of 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) was recorded in Onslow on 13 January 2022.[35] The lowest temperature recorded was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) at Eyre Bird Observatory on 17 August 2008.[36]

    The

    aurora australis displays as far north as Geraldton.[37]

    Climate data for Western Australia
    Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
    Record high °C (°F) 50.7
    (123.3)     		50.5
    (122.9)     		48.1
    (118.6)     		45.0
    (113.0)     		40.6
    (105.1)     		37.8
    (100.0)     		38.3
    (100.9)     		41.6
    (106.9)     		43.1
    (109.6)     		46.9
    (116.4)     		48.0
    (118.4)     		49.8
    (121.6)     		50.7
    (123.3)
    Record low °C (°F) 0.9
    (33.6)     		0.5
    (32.9)     		−0.8
    (30.6)     		−2.2
    (28.0)     		−5.6
    (21.9)     		−6.0
    (21.2)     		−6.7
    (19.9)     		−7.2
    (19.0)     		−5.1
    (22.8)     		−5.0
    (23.0)     		−2.1
    (28.2)     		0.0
    (32.0)     		−7.2
    (19.0)
    Source 1: Bureau of Meteorology[38]
    Source 2: [35][39][full citation needed]

    Flora and fauna

    A quokka on Rottnest Island
    The black swan is the state bird of Western Australia

    Western Australia is home to around

    endemic
    to the state. The best areas for birds are the southwestern corner of the state and the area around Broome and the Kimberley.

    The

    invasive plant species, more commonly known as weeds.[40][41]
    In the southwest region are some of the largest numbers of plant species for its area in the world.

    Western Australia's

    Great Sandy-Tanami desert, Gibson Desert, Great Victoria Desert, and Nullarbor Plain
    .

    In 1831, Scottish botanist Robert Brown produced a scientific paper, titled General view of the botany of the vicinity of Swan River. It discusses the vegetation of the Swan River Colony.[42]

    Demographics

    See also: Demographics of Australia
    Western Australia's capital and largest city, Perth. Its metropolitan area is home to more than 80% of the state's population.
    WA population growth 1829–2010

    Europeans began to settle permanently in 1826 when

    Goldfields region
    , resulted in a sharp population increase.

    Western Australia did not receive significant flows of immigrants from Britain, Ireland or elsewhere in the British Empire until the early 20th century. At that time, its local projects—such as the Group Settlement Scheme of the 1920s, which encouraged farmers to settle the southwest—increased awareness of Australia's western third as a destination for colonists.

    Led by immigrants from the British Isles, Western Australia's population developed at a faster rate during the twentieth century than it had previously. After

    Croatians and Macedonians. Despite this, Britain has contributed the greatest number of immigrants to this day. Western Australia—particularly Perth—has the highest proportion of British-born of any state: 10.3% in 2011, compared to a national average of 5.1%. This group is heavily concentrated in certain parts, where they account for a quarter of the population.[44]

    Further information: List of places in Western Australia by population

    Perth's metropolitan area (including

    Karratha (16,446),[45] Broome (14,501)[45] and Port Hedland (14,285).[45]

    Ancestry and immigration

    Country of birth (2016)[46][47]
    Birthplace[c] Population
    Australia 1,492,842
    England 194,163
    New Zealand 79,221
    India 49,385
    South Africa 41,008
    Philippines 30,835
    Malaysia 29,126
    Mainland China 27,126
    Scotland 26,063
    Italy 19,210

    At the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were:[d][46][47]

    3.1% of the population, or 75,978 people, identified as Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders) in 2016.[f][46][47]

    Language

    At the 2016 census, 75.2% of inhabitants spoke only English at home, with the next most common languages being Mandarin (1.9%), Italian (1.2%), Vietnamese (0.8%), Cantonese (0.8%) and Tagalog (0.6%).[46][47]

    Religion

    According to the 2021 census, Christianity is the major religious affiliation in WA, followed by 41.1% of its population. In 1971, Christianity was followed by 85.5% of the population and it has been declining since, while the percentage of people who identified as having no religious affiliation has increased from 8.7% in 1971 to 42.9% in 2021. A small minority of the population are Muslims (2.5%), Buddhists (2.2%) and Hindus (2.0%).[49][50][47]

    Economy

    See also: Economy of Western Australia and Economy of Australia
    Brockman 4, an iron ore mine in the Pilbara
    Western Australia's resource commodity mix, 2007
    Major commodity mix, 2008–2009

    Western Australia's economy is largely driven by extraction and processing of a diverse range of mineral and petroleum commodities. The structure of the economy is closely linked to these natural resources, providing a comparative advantage in resource extraction and processing. As a consequence:

    In 2019 Western Australia's overseas exports accounted for 46% of the nation's total.

    alumina, nickel, wheat, copper, lithium, chemicals and mineral sands.[57]

    Western Australia is the world's largest iron-ore producer (34% of the world's total), and extracts 66% (6.9% of world production) of Australia's 306 tonnes (9.8 million troy ounces) of gold in 2022.[58] It is a major world producer of bauxite, which is processed into alumina at four refineries providing 11% of total world production. Until 2020 diamonds were extracted from the world's largest diamond mine in the far north Kimberley region. Coal mined at Collie is the main fuel for baseload electricity generation in the state's south-west.[57][59]

    Agricultural production in WA is a major contributor to the state and national economy. In the period 2010–2019 wheat production in WA has averaged nearly 10 million tonnes (22 billion pounds), valued at $2.816 billion in 2019, accounting for half the nation's total and providing $2–3 billion in export income.[60][61]

    Other significant farm output includes wool, beef, lamb, barley, canola, lupins, oats and pulses.[60] There is a high level of overseas demand for live animals from WA, driven mainly by southeast Asia's feedlots and Middle Eastern countries, where Islamic dietary laws and a lack of storage and refrigeration facilities favour live animals over imports of processed meat. About half of Australia's live cattle exports come from Western Australia.[62]

    Resource sector growth in recent years has resulted in significant labour and skills shortages, leading to recent efforts by the state government to encourage interstate and overseas immigration.[63] According to the 2006 census,[needs update][64] the median individual income was A$500 per week in Western Australia (compared to A$466 in Australia as a whole). The median family income was A$1246 per week (compared to A$1171 for Australia). Recent growth has also contributed to significant rises in average property values in 2006, although values plateaued in 2007.

    Albany's Historic Whaling Station

    Located south of Perth, the heavy industrial area of Kwinana had the nation's largest oil refinery with a capacity of 23,200 cubic metres per day (146,000 barrels per day) until its closure in 2021, producing most of the state's petrol and diesel.[65][66][67] Kwinana also hosts alumina and nickel processing plants, port facilities for grain and other bulk exports, and support industries for mining and petroleum such as heavy and light engineering, and metal fabrication. Shipbuilding (e.g. Austal) and associated support industries are found at nearby Henderson, just north of Kwinana. Significant secondary industries include cement and building product manufacturing, flour milling, food processing, animal feed production, automotive body building and printing.

    Western Australia has a significant fishing industry. Products for local consumption and export include

    western rock lobsters, prawns, crabs, shark and tuna, as well as pearl fishing in the Kimberley region of the state. Processing is conducted along the west coast. Whaling
    was a key marine industry but ceased at Albany in 1978.

    Western Australia has the world's biggest plantations of both

    Australian sandalwood (semi-arid regions), which are used to produce sandalwood oil and incense.[69] The WA sandalwood industry provides about 40% of the international sandalwood oil market.[70]

    Tourism

    Camel rides are a popular tourist activity at Cable Beach in Broome

    In recent years, tourism has grown in importance, with significant numbers of visitors to the state coming from the UK and Ireland (28%), other European countries (14%) Singapore (16%), Japan (10%) and Malaysia (8%).[61] Revenue from tourism is a strong economic driver in many of the smaller population centres outside of Perth, especially in coastal locations.

    Tourism forms a major part of the Western Australian economy with 833,100 international visitors making up 12.8% of the total international tourism to Australia in the year ending March 2015. The top three source markets include the United Kingdom (17%), Singapore (10%), and New Zealand (10%) with the majority of purpose for visitation being holiday/vacation reasons.[71] The tourism industry contributes $9.3 billion to the Western Australian economy and supports 94,000 jobs within the state. Both directly and indirectly, the industry makes up 3.2% of the state's economy whilst comparatively, WA's largest revenue source, the mining sector, brings in 31%.[72]

    Tourism WA is the government agency responsible for promoting Western Australia as a holiday destination.[73]

    Government

    Main article: Government of Western Australia
    Parliament House

    Western Australia was granted self-government in 1890[74] with a bicameral Parliament located in Perth, consisting of the Legislative Assembly (or lower house), which has 59 members; and the Legislative Council (or upper house), which has 36 members. Suffrage is universal and compulsory for citizens 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 broad interpretation of its enumerated powers and increasing control of taxation and financial distribution (see Federalism in Australia).

    Whilst the sovereign of Western Australia is the monarch of Australia (currently Charles III) and executive power is nominally vested in his or her state representative, the Governor (currently Chris Dawson), executive power rests with the premier and ministers drawn from the party or coalition of parties holding a majority of seats in the Legislative Assembly. Roger Cook is the premier, having succeeded Mark McGowan after his resignation in June 2023.

    Secession

    Main article: Secessionism in Western Australia
    A 1933 meeting of the Dominion League in support of secession.

    Secessionism has been a recurring feature of Western Australia's political landscape since shortly after European settlement in 1826. Western Australia was the most reluctant participant in the Commonwealth of Australia.[75] 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 many immigrants from other parts of Australia. It was these residents, primarily in Kalgoorlie but also in Albany who voted to join the Commonwealth, and the proposal of these areas being admitted separately under the name Auralia was considered.[citation needed]

    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 ruled that after the Statute of Westminster 1931, it no longer had the authority to amend the constitution of Australia without the consent of its federal government; the British Government took no action.[76]

    Local government

    Western Australia is divided into 139

    Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Their mandate and operations are governed by the Local Government Act 1995.[77]

    Education

    University of Western Australia

    Education in Western Australia consists of one year of pre-school at age 4 or 5, followed by six years of primary education for all students as of 2015.[78] At age 12 or 13, students begin six years of secondary education. Students are required to attend school up until they are 16 years old. Sixteen and 17 year olds are required to be enrolled in school or a training organisation, be employed or be in a combination of school/training/employment.[79] Students have the option to study at a TAFE college after Year 10,[80] or continue through to Year 12 with vocational courses or a university entrance courses.[81]

    There are five universities in Western Australia. They consist of four Perth-based public universities, being the University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University and Murdoch University; and one Fremantle-based private Roman Catholic university, the University of Notre Dame Australia. The University of Notre Dame is also one of only two private universities in Australia, along with Bond University, a not-for-profit private education provider based in Gold Coast, Queensland.

    Media

    Print

    Main article: List of newspapers in Western Australia
    Seven West Media's Newspaper House, where The West Australian newspaper is produced

    Western Australia has two daily newspapers: the Seven West Media-owned tabloid The West Australian and the Kalgoorlie Miner. Also published is one weekend paper, The Weekend West, and one Sunday tabloid newspaper, which is also owned by Seven West Media after purchase from News Corporation's The Sunday Times. There are also 17 weekly community newspapers with distribution from Yanchep in the north to Mandurah in the south. There are two major weekly rural papers in the state, Countryman and the Australian Community Media-owned Farm Weekly. The national broadsheet publication The Australian is also available, although with sales per capita lagging far behind those in other states. WAtoday is an online newspaper owned by Nine Entertainment, focusing its coverage on Perth and Western Australia.

    Television

    Metropolitan Perth has five broadcast television stations;

    Regional WA has a similar availability of stations as Perth. Geographically, it is one of the largest television markets in the world, including almost one-third of the continent.

    ABC studios in East Perth

    In addition, broadcasters operate digital multichannels:

    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

    Perth has many radio stations on both AM and FM frequencies. ABC stations include

    ABC Classic FM (6ABC 97.7FM) and Triple J (6JJJ 99.3FM). The six commercial stations are: Triple M (6PPM), Nova 93.7 (6PER), Mix 94.5 (6MIX), 96FM (6NOW) and AM 882 (6PR), AM 1080 (6iX
    ) and AM 1116 (6MM)

    The leading

    Curtin FM 100.1, 6RTR FM 92.1, Sonshine FM 98.5 (6SON) and 91.3 SportFM
    (6WSM).

    Culture

    Arts and entertainment

    WA Museum Boola Bardip

    Western Australia is home to one of the country's leading performance training institutions, the acclaimed Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), as well as a burgeoning theatrical and musical scene. Notable musicians and bands to have been born in or lived in Western Australia include Adam Brand, Ammonia, Karnivool, Birds of Tokyo, Bon Scott, Eskimo Joe, Johnny Young, Gyroscope, the John Butler Trio, Tame Impala, Kevin Mitchell, Tim Minchin, Troye Sivan, the Kill Devil Hills, Pendulum, the Pigram Brothers, Rolf Harris, Stella Donnelly and the Triffids. The West Australian Music Industry Awards (WAMis) have been awarded every year to the leading musicians and performers in WA since 2001.

    Notable actors and television personalities from Western Australia include

    ABBA: the Movie and Last Train to Freo
    .

    Art Gallery of Western Australia

    Noted Western Australian Indigenous painters and artisans include

    Paddy Bedford, Queenie McKenzie, and siblings Nyuju Stumpy Brown and Rover Thomas.[82]

    The

    His Majesty's Theatre, the State Theatre Centre of Western Australia, the Crown Theatre and Perth Arena, which opened in 2012. Performing arts companies based in Perth include the West Australian Ballet, the West Australian Opera, the Black Swan State Theatre Company and the Perth Theatre Company
    .

    Western Australia has served as the setting for a number of works of Australian literature. Prominent authors include Katharine Susannah Prichard, Randolph Stow, Tim Winton, Kim Scott, Sally Morgan, Joan London, Mary Durack and Craig Silvey.

    The public Art Gallery of Western Australia is part of the Perth Cultural Centre. Founded in 1895, it houses the State Art Collection, comprising works from local and international artists, dating back to the 1800s.[83] The Perth Cultural Centre is also home to the Western Australian Museum, State Library of Western Australia, State Records Office, and Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA). Western Australia has a public library system, with libraries in every local government area (although some public libraries are shared school libraries).

    Sport

    Main article: Sport in Western Australia
    Fremantle Dockers, are known as the Western Derby

    A number of national or international sporting teams and events are based in the state, including:

    International sporting events hosted in the past in Western Australia include the

    World Rally Championships and the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games
    .

    The Margaret River region is known for its wine production

    Western Australia's largest sports stadium is Perth Stadium, also known by naming rights sponsorship as Optus Stadium. It has a capacity of over 60,000 people and is primarily used for Australian rules football and cricket.

    Wine

    Main article: Western Australian wine

    Winemaking regions are concentrated in the cooler climate of the

    The Great Southern, Swan Valley as well as smaller districts including Blackwood Valley, Manjimup, Pemberton, Peel, Chittering Valley, Perth Hills, and Geographe.[86]

    Public holidays

    The table below outlines all recognised public holidays in Western Australia.

    Public holidays in Western Australia
    Name Date
    New Year's Day* 1 January
    Australia Day* 26 January
    Labour Day First Monday in March
    Good Friday Variable (aligns with Easter) (March or April)
    Easter Sunday Variable (aligns with Easter) (March or April)
    Easter Monday Variable (aligns with Easter) (March or April)
    ANZAC Day* 26 April
    Western Australia Day First Monday in June
    KIng's Birthday
    		 As proclaimed by the governor of Western Australia (September/October)
    Christmas Day* 25 December
    Boxing Day*
    26 December
    • Indicates a nation wide holiday

    Sister states

    Western Australia has five sister states:[88]

    In 1981, a sister state agreement was drawn up between Western Australia and Hyōgo Prefecture in Japan that was aimed at improving cultural ties between the two states.[89][90] To commemorate the 10th anniversary of this agreement, the Hyōgo Prefectural Government Cultural Centre was established in Perth in 1992.[91] Prior to that, the Western Australian government opened an office in Kobe, the largest city in Hyōgo, to facilitate maintenance of the relationship in 1989.[90][92]

    Following the Great Hanshin earthquake that devastated southern Hyōgo in January 1995, Western Australian groups and businesses raised funds and provided materials, whilst individuals travelled to Hyōgo to help with emergency relief and the subsequent reconstruction process.[93][94][95] The two governments signed a memorandum of understanding on the 20th anniversary in 2001 that aimed to improve the economic relationship between the two states.[90]

    Further to the sister state relationship, the City of Rockingham in Western Australia and the City of Akō in Hyōgo signed a sister city agreement in 1997. It is one of nine sister city relationships between Western Australian and Japanese cities.[96]

    See also

    Lists

    Notes

    1. ^ Surpassed only by the Sakha Republic in eastern Russia, and formerly Northwest Territories in Canada, before the creation of Nunavut. It is also the largest proper subnational entity, being a state rather than a territory or an autonomous region.
    2. ^ In Australia, the body of water south of the continent is officially gazetted as the Southern Ocean, whereas the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) designates it as part of the Indian Ocean.[25][26]
    3. ^ In accordance with the Australian Bureau of Statistics source, England, Scotland, Mainland China and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau are listed separately
    4. ^ As a percentage of 2,286,107 persons who nominated their ancestry at the 2016 census.
    5. Anglo-Celtic group.[48]
    6. ^ a b Of any ancestry. Includes those identifying as Aboriginal Australians or Torres Strait Islanders. Indigenous identification is separate to the ancestry question on the Australian Census and persons identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander may identify any ancestry.

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    Further reading
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