|
| |
State of Western Australia
|
| |
Flag of Western Australiasvg
|
| |
Western_Australia_coat_of_arms_smalljpg
|
| |
Western Australia locator-MJCpng
|
| |
"Cygnis Insignis" (Distinguished by its swans)
|
| |
Wildflower State
|
| |
"http://wwwinformationdelightinfo/encyclopedia/entry/Vrhbosna/Black_Swan" class="copylinks">Black Swan (''Cygnus atratus'')
|
| |
Perth
|
| |
Premier
|
| |
Alan Carpenter
|
| |
ALP
|
| |
Ken Michael
|
| |
Governor
|
| |
WA
|
| |
1<sup>st</sup>
|
| |
2,645,615
|
| |
2,529,875
|
| |
115,740
|
| |
437
|
| |
4<sup>th</sup>
|
| |
2,003,800
|
| |
End of March 2005
|
| |
7<sup>th</sup>
|
| |
079
|
| |
State
|
| |
$100,900
|
| |
2004-05
|
| |
4<sup>th</sup>
|
| |
$50,355
|
| |
3<sup>rd</sup>
|
| |
Mt Meharry - 1253 m
|
| |
Variable
|
| |
UTC +8 ( AWST )
|
| |
15
|
| |
12
|
| |
AU-WA
|
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.
Western Australia consists of several extremely old
Craton s which merged (probably during the
Neoproterozoic ) to form the Australian Craton. 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 (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
Soil s 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
Continent s. Soils derived from extensive
Sand plains 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
State Capital is the city of
Perth , which lies on the south-western coastline. Perth's metropolitan area had an estimated population of 1.433 million in 2003 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.
The
Southwest Coastal Area is relatively temperate and was originally forested, though most has now been removed, becoming one of the most damaged landscapes of the planet. 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 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
Monsoon al 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
Flood s 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.
50.5 °C (122.9 °F),
Mardie ,
19 February 1998
-6.7 °C (19.9 °F),
Booylgoo Springs ,
12 July 1969 {Link without Title}
The inappropriate nature of Western Australian soils to western agricultural methods, has required heavy inputs of chemical fertilisers, particularly
Superphosphate ,
Pesticides and
Herbicides , which, with the ensuing damage to
Invertebrate and
Bacteria l 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 )
Although Western Australia has been occupied by
Aboriginal people for over 40,000 years, 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 ). Since that time, many immigrants have continued to be of British origin, outnumbered only by arrivals from other Australian states. Today Australian Aboriginal people today 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 white Australian.
There has also been significant immigration from
New Zealand and
South Africa . Small numbers of
Southeast Asia n (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 ,
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
Western 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 Ore ,
Alumina ,
Natural Gas ,
Nickel and
Gold . Western Australia is a leading alumina extractor, producing more than 20% of the world's
Aluminium . 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.
Western Australia's economy recently has benefited from an unprecedented amount of foreign demand for resources, particularly from
China . This has contributed to
GSP growth of 4.8%, 7.5% and 2.7% for the 2002/03, 2003/04 and 2004/05
Financial Years respectively.
[http://www.dtf.wa.gov.au/cms/uploadedFiles/stateaccounts200405.pdf Perth has emerged as a significant administration centre for businesses in the mineral and oil and gas industries.
]]
Agricultural exports are also important, especially
Wheat ,
Barley and
Sheep products such as
Wool and meat. 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, generates over 25% of Australia's export revenues. Western Australians argue that this justifies a higher than per capita share of Commonwealth government revenues, a fact contested by residents of New South Wales and Victoria who express some resentment against "subsidising" the less populous states.
Western Australia is also unique in that retail trade is tightly regulated and there are strict restrictions on the hours that stores are allowed to open. Major store are restricted to open between 8:00am and 6:00 pm weekdays except Thursdays where closing time is 9:00pm. 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 11:00am until 5:00pm. The Perth City area has Friday night trading until 9:00pm.
See Also: Government of Western Australia
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).
See Also: Secession movement in Western Australia
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.
is the state bird of Western Australia]]
#
Perth
#
Fremantle
#
Rockingham
#
Mandurah
#
Bunbury
#
Kalgoorlie
is the Floral emblem of Western Australia]]
- Birds ''(see List Of Western Australian 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.
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 only one daily newspaper, the independent tabloid ''
The West Australian '', and 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 at the expense of ''The West Australian'' which charges for its online news service.
Metropolitan Perth has six broadcast television stations (
ABW-2 ,
TVW-7 ,
STW-9 ,
NEW-10 ,
SBS-28 and
ATW-31 ) while regional Western Australia is served by four broadcast networks (
ABC ,
GWN ,
WIN and
SBS ). Pay TV services are also provided by pay television giant
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 cable; however, the most of the metropolitan and rural areas can only access Pay TV via satellite.
The top five radio stations broadcasting in Perth include, (2005 ratings in descending order), , and
6PR AM. The regional areas of the state have a number of local broadcasters, and the national broadcaster, the [http://www.abc.net.au 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 ).
Western Australia is known for its love of sports and has these national or international sporting teams and events based in the state:
- A Soccer team, Perth Glory , which is a part of the newly re-formed football competition known as the A-League . In the past Perth Glory has been a relatively successful team by winning the last two NSL (National Soccer League) seasons (2002-03 & 2003-04).
- Western Australia is the home of the Western Force , a new franchise in the Super 14 Rugby Union competition (formerly the Super 12 before the addition of the Force and a team in South Africa).
- Rugby League briefly maintained a Western Australian team in the national competition (1995-1997), known as the Western Reds . (Perth Reds in the Super League season)
- Normally at least one international Golf tournament is held in WA each year, with the Johnnie Walker Classic at The Vines Resort & Country Club in Jan 2006 as part of both the European Tour and PGA Tour Of Australasia . In past years international tournaments have also been held at the Karrinyup Country Club. The Heineken Classic was held in WA throughout the 1990s and was at times the richest tournment held in Australia.
