Western Australia

{{Short description|State of Australia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Use Australian English|date=October 2013}} {{mcn|date=May 2026}} {{Infobox political division | name = Western Australia | settlement_type = State | image_flag = Flag of Western Australia.svg | flag_size = 130px | flag_link = Flag of Western Australia | image_seal = Western Australian Coat of Arms.svg | seal_size = 130px | seal_type = Coat of arms | seal_link = Coat of arms of Western Australia | motto = | nickname = {{hlist|The Golden State|The Wildflower State|The State of Excitement}} | image_map = {{Australian state map|Map=Western Australia in Australia.svg|align=center|border=none|width=300px}} | map_caption = Location of Western Australia in Australia {{coord|26|S|121|E|type:adm1st_region:AU-WA|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Australia | established_title = Before federation | established_date = Colony of Western Australia | established_title2 = Established as the Swan River Colony | established_date2 = 2 May 1829 | established_title3 = Responsible government | established_date3 = 21 October 1890 | established_title4 = Federation | established_date4 = 1 January 1901 | demonym = {{hlist|Western/West Australian|West Aussie|Sandgroper (colloquial)}} | capital = Perth | largest_city = capital | coordinates = | admin_center_type = Administration | admin_center = 139 local government areas | government_type = Federated parliamentary constitutional monarchy | leader_title1 = Monarch | leader_name1 = {{Current Australian monarch |Charles III}} | leader_title2 = Governor | leader_name2 = Chris Dawson | leader_title3 = Premier | leader_name3 = Roger Cook (Labor) | legislature = Parliament of Western Australia | upper_house = Legislative Council | lower_house = Legislative Assembly | judiciary = Supreme Court of Western Australia | national_representation = Parliament of Australia | national_representation_type1 = Senate | national_representation1 = 12 senators (of 76) | national_representation_type2 = House of Representatives | national_representation2 = 16 seats (of 150) | area_km2 = 2527013<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/area-of-australia-states-and-territories | title=Area of Australia – States and Territories | date=27 June 2014 }}</ref> | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_rank = 1st | area_rank_link = States and territories of Australia#Statistics | elevation_max_m = 1249 | elevation_max_point = Mount Meharry | population_estimate = 3,008,700<ref name=ABSPop>{{cite web | url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/dec-2024 | title=National, state and territory population, December 2024 | Australian Bureau of Statistics | date=19 June 2025 }}</ref> | population_estimate_rank = 4th | population_rank_link = States and territories of Australia#Statistics | population_estimate_year = December 2024 | population_density_km2 = 1.11 | population_density_sq_mi = | population_density_rank = 7th | population_density_rank_link = States and territories of Australia#Statistics | GDP_nominal = {{AUD|377.257B|link=yes}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Western Australian Economic Notes – Gross State Product – 2021–22 |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/economy/national-accounts/australian-national-accounts-state-accounts/2021-22-financial-year |access-date=16 September 2023 |archive-date=31 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831063352/https://www.wa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2020-12/gross-state-product-economic-notes-2019-20.pdf }}</ref> | GDP_nominal_type = GSP | GDP_nominal_year = 2022 | GDP_nominal_rank = 4th | GDP_nominal_rank_link = List of Australian states and territories by gross state product | GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{AUD|135,320}} | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 1st | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank_link = List of Australian states and territories by gross state product | HDI = 0.973 | HDI_year = 2023 | HDI_change = increase | HDI_ref =<ref name="GlobalDataLab">{{cite web|url=https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/|title=Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab|website=hdi.globaldatalab.org|language=en|access-date=11 November 2025}}</ref> | HDI_rank = 2nd | HDI_rank_link = List of Australian states and territories by Human Development Index | utc_offset_list = {{ublist|UTC+08:00 (AWST)|UTC+08:45 (Eucla, Cocklebiddy, Madura, Mundrabilla, Caiguna); DST not observed)}} | calling_code = | postal_code_type = Postal abbreviation | postal_code = WA | website = {{URL|wa.gov.au}} | iso_code = AU–WA {{Infobox place symbols| embedded=Yes | mammal = Numbat ''(Myrmecobius fasciatus)'' | bird = Black swan ''(Cygnus atratus)'' | fish = Whale shark ''(Rhincodon typus)'' | flower = Red and green kangaroo paw ''(Anigozanthos manglesii)'' | fossil = Gogo fish ''(Mcnamaraspis kaprios)'' | colour = Black and gold }} |pushpin_map_alt=State }}

'''Western Australia''' ('''WA''') is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Australia is Australia's largest state, with a land area of {{convert|2527013|km2}},<ref name="ga20" /> and is also the second-largest subdivision of any country on Earth.{{efn|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.}}

The state has a diverse range of climates, including tropical conditions in the Kimberley, deserts in the interior (including the Great Sandy Desert, Little Sandy Desert, Gibson Desert, and Great Victoria Desert) and a Mediterranean climate on the south-west and southern coastal areas. {{As of|2024|June|post=,}} the state has 2.965 million inhabitants—10.9 percent of the national total.<ref>{{Cite web|date=22 March 2024|title=National, state and territory population, March 2024 {{!}} Australian Department of Treasury|url=https://www.wa.gov.au/organisation/department-of-treasury/population}}</ref> Over 90 percent of the state's population live in the south-west corner and around 80 percent live in the state capital Perth,<ref name=ABSCapitalPop/> 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.

The state'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|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".<ref name="men22">{{cite Q |Q127496561 |mode=cs1 |url-status=live |access-date=2024-05-19 }}</ref>{{rp|5}} Over thousands of years they eventually spread across the whole landmass.{{cn |date=June 2024}} These Indigenous Australians were long established throughout Western Australia by the time European explorers began to arrive in the early 17th century.

[[File:Hessel Gerritsz - Malay Archipelago and Australia.jpg|thumb|left|Map first drawn in 1618 by Hessel Gerritsz, 12 years after Europeans first encountered the Australian mainland,<ref name="huy95" /> 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.<ref name="ger18">{{cite web |title=Chart of the Malay Archipelago and the Dutch discoveries in Australia |last=Gerritsz |first=Hessel |author1-link=Hessel Gerritsz |others=Octroy Vande H.M. Heeren de Staten Generael der Vereenichde Neerlanden. The discoveries after 1618 were added to the engraved plate between 1628 and 1632 |publisher=Hessel Gerritsz |location=Amsterdam |year=1618–1638 |url=https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-231306238/view |via=Trove |access-date=3 August 2020 }}</ref>]]

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).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Green |first=J.N. |date=1977 |title=Australia's oldest wreck: The Loss of the Trial, 1622 |url=http://museum.wa.gov.au/maritime-archaeology-db/sites/default/files/no._278_trial_bar_1977_0.pdf |journal=British Archaeological Reports, Supplementary Series |volume=27 |location=Oxford}}</ref> 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 {{#expr: 1850 - 1644}} years in comparison to the name Australia which to date has been in use for about {{#expr: floor( ( {{CURRENTJULIANDAY}} - {{JULIANDAY|1829}} ) / 365.25 ) }} years.<ref name="wayb79" />{{rp|11}}

[[File:Thevenot - Hollandia Nova detecta 1644.png|thumb|Melchisédech Thévenot's ''Hollandia Nova—Terre Australe'' in his travel anthology ({{langx|fr|link=no|Relations de divers voyages curieux}}) published in 1664,<ref name="the64" /> and which seems to be a copy of ''Archipelagus Orientalis sive Asiaticus'' by Joan Blaeu in the ''Atlas of the Great Elector'' ({{langx|de|link=no|Atlas des Großen Kurfürsten}}) from 1659.<ref name="bla59" /> 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 Edmund Lockyer<ref name="Western Australia Foundation"/> of a convict-supported settlement from New South Wales at 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.<ref name="Western Australia Foundation"/> On 7 March 1831 it was transferred to the control of the Swan River Colony,<ref name=knibbs/> and named Albany in 1832.

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, and the official name of the colony was changed to Western Australia on 6 February that year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://poi-australia.com.au/swan-river-colony-proclaimed/|title=Swan River Colony Proclaimed|date=2 May 1829|publisher=POI Australia|language=English|accessdate=13 February 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://statelibrarynsw.tumblr.com/post/156855938896/on-this-day-6th-february-1832-the-swan-river|title=On this day, 6th February 1832|newspaper=State Library of New South Wales|language=English|accessdate=13 February 2021}}</ref> 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 {{convert|97|km}} 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.

[[File:John Forrest 1898.jpg|thumb|right|upright|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 Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie, the Western Australian Parliament authorised the raising of a loan to construct a pipeline to transport {{convert|5|e6impgal|ML|order=flip|abbr=off}} of water per day to the burgeoning population on the goldfields. The pipeline, known as the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme, was completed in 1903. {{thinspace|C. Y.}} O'Connor, Western Australia's first engineer-in-chief, designed and oversaw the construction of the pipeline. It carries water {{convert|530|km|mi|abbr=on}} from Perth to Kalgoorlie, and is attributed by historians as an important factor driving the state's population and economic growth.<ref>{{cite Australian Dictionary of Biography |id2=oconnor-charles-yelverton-7874 |title=Charles Yelverton O'Connor (1843–1902) |author=Tauman, Merab Harris |year=1988 |pages=51–54 |access-date=8 August 2025}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hawkins |first1=John Robert |title=John Forrest: Four times treasurer |url=https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-03/08_John_Forrest.pdf |publisher=University of Canberra |access-date=3 May 2023 |date=2007}}</ref>

==="West Australia"=== thumb|upright|"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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/search/?searchtype=X&SORT=D&searcharg=westralia&searchscope=2&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Submit |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109143420/http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/search/?searchtype=X&SORT=D&searcharg=westralia&searchscope=2&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=Submit |archive-date=9 November 2011 |title=SLWA Online Catalogue /Entire Sta |website=Henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au |access-date=2 November 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/result?q=westralia|title=Search results for 'westralia' – Trove|website=Trove.nla.gov.au|access-date=16 September 2015}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web |title=SLWA Online Catalogue /Entire Sta |url=http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/record=b2140613~S2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109135900/http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/record=b2140613~S2 |archive-date=9 November 2011 |website=Henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au |access-date=2 November 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=SLWA Online Catalogue /Entire Sta |url=http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/record=b1791098~S2 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109141500/http://henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au/record=b1791098~S2 |archive-date=9 November 2011 |website=Henrietta.liswa.wa.gov.au |access-date=2 November 2012 }}</ref>

==Geography== {{Main|Geography of Western Australia}} Western Australia is bounded to the east nominally by longitude 129°E, the meridian 129 degrees east of Greenwich, although the actual border with South Australia and the Northern Territory (as surveyed and marked or otherwise indicated on the ground) deviates from 129° east and is not a single straight line,<ref>{{cite conference |title=Longitude 129 degrees east, and why it is not the longest, straight line in the world |last=Porter |first=John R. |date=31 March – 6 April 1990 |conference=32nd Australian Surveyors Congress |publisher=Institution of Surveyors Australia |location=Canberra |pages=18–24 |url=https://www.xnatmap.org/adnm/docs/1genmap/sgcnr/1porter.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220109181904/https://www.xnatmap.org/adnm/docs/1genmap/sgcnr/1porter.pdf |archive-date=2022-01-09 |access-date=2022-09-15 |oclc=220695231 }}</ref> and bounded by the Indian Ocean to the west and north. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) designates the body of water south of the continent as part of the Indian Ocean; in Australia it is officially gazetted as the Southern Ocean.{{efn|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.<ref name="iho53" /><ref name="Canberra all at sea"/>}}<ref name="iho53">{{cite book |title=Limits of Oceans and Seas |year=1953 |edition=3rd |url=http://www.iho.shom.fr/publicat/free/files/S23_1953.pdf |series=Special Publication No. 23 |publisher=International Hydrographic Organization |location=Monte Carlo |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007114205/http://www.iho.shom.fr/publicat/free/files/S23_1953.pdf |archive-date=7 October 2009 |access-date=24 September 2021 }}</ref><ref name="Canberra all at sea">{{cite news |url=https://www.theage.com.au/national/canberra-all-at-sea-over-position-of-southern-ocean-20031222-gdwzeb.html |title=Canberra all at sea over position of Southern Ocean|date=22 December 2003 |newspaper=The Age |access-date=29 January 2025 |oclc=224683742}}</ref>

The total length of the state's eastern border is {{convert|1862|km|0|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/dimensions/borders.htm |title=State And Territory Borders|publisher=Geoscience Australia |date=11 September 2007|access-date=25 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071128113204/http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/dimensions/borders.htm |archive-date=28 November 2007}}</ref> There are {{convert|20781|km|0|abbr=on}} of coastline, including {{convert|7892|km|0|abbr=on}} of island coastline.<ref>{{cite web |date=18 November 2010 |title=Coastline Lengths |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/dimensions/coastline-lengths.html |publisher=Geoscience Australia |access-date=21 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122025201/http://www.ga.gov.au/education/geoscience-basics/dimensions/coastline-lengths.html |archive-date=22 January 2011}}</ref> The total land area occupied by the state is {{convert|2.5|e6km2|e3mi2|abbr=unit}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=Area of States and Territories |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/dimensions/areadime.htm |publisher=Geoscience Australia |date=31 August 2005 |access-date=25 September 2008 |archive-date=30 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080730134442/http://www.ga.gov.au/education/facts/dimensions/areadime.htm}}</ref>

===Geology=== The bulk of Western Australia consists of the extremely old Yilgarn craton and Pilbara craton which merged with the Deccan Plateau of India, Madagascar and the Kaapvaal and Zimbabwe cratons of Southern Africa, in the Archean Eon to form Ur, one of the oldest supercontinents on Earth (3–3.2  billion years ago). In May 2017, evidence of the earliest known life 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.<ref name="PO-20170509">{{cite news |title=Oldest evidence of life on land found in 3.48-billion-year-old Australian rocks |url=https://phys.org/news/2017-05-oldest-evidence-life-billion-year-old-australian.html |date=9 May 2017 |website=Phys.org |access-date=13 May 2017 }}</ref><ref name="NC-20170509">{{cite journal |last1=Djokic |first1=Tara |last2=Van Kranendonk |first2=Martin J. |last3=Campbell |first3=Kathleen A. |last4=Walter |first4=Malcolm R. |last5=Ward |first5=Colin R. |title=Earliest signs of life on land preserved in ca. 3.5 Ga hot spring deposits |date=9 May 2017 |journal=Nature Communications |volume=8 |article-number=15263 |doi=10.1038/ncomms15263 |pmid=28486437 |pmc=5436104 |bibcode=2017NatCo...815263D }}</ref>

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).

[[File:WAHighways.png|thumb|right|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|date=November 2017}} 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=== [[File:Western Australia Köppen.svg|left|thumb|Köppen climate types in Western Australia]] The southwest coastal area has a Mediterranean climate. It was originally heavily forested, including large stands of karri, one of the tallest trees in the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Climate of Western Australia |publisher=Bureau of Meteorology |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/ausclim/ausclimwa.htm |access-date=6 December 2009 |archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090317054300/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/96122/20090317-1643/www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/ausclim/ausclimwa.html |archive-date=17 March 2009}} {{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> This agricultural region is one of the nine most bio-diverse terrestrial habitats, with a higher proportion of 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/climate_averages/rainfall/index.jsp |title=Average annual, seasonal and monthly rainfall |publisher=Commonwealth of Australia, Bureau of Meteorology |date=26 October 2011 |access-date=1 June 2014 }}</ref>

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. Eighty-five percent of the state's 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 {{convert|5|cm|0|abbr=on}} and rarely settle for more than one day.<ref>[http://www.feargod.net/wa-snow1.php Snow in Western Australia: About Snow in WA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511051459/http://www.feargod.net/wa-snow1.php |date=11 May 2011 }}. Retrieved 4 February 2007.</ref>

The highest observed temperature of 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) was recorded in Onslow on 13 January 2022.<ref name="BBC">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59977193|title=Australia equals hottest day on record at 50.7C |publisher=BBC |date=13 January 2022 |access-date=13 January 2022 }}</ref> The lowest temperature recorded was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) at Eyre Bird Observatory on 17 August 2008.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/extreme/records/national.pdf|title=Rainfall and Temperature Records: National|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=14 November 2009}}</ref>

The South Geomagnetic Pole is currently tilted 10 degrees away from the South Pole towards Western Australia, allowing for aurora australis displays as far north as Geraldton.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Logan |first1=Tyne |title=Southern lights events expected to increase over next two years as sun reaches solar maximum |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-30/southern-lights-events-increase-australia/102281398 |newspaper=ABC News |date=29 April 2023 |access-date=9 December 2023}}</ref>

{{Weather box |location = Western Australia |metric first = Yes |single line = Yes |Jan record high C = 50.7 |Feb record high C = 50.5 |Mar record high C = 48.1 |Apr record high C = 45.0 |May record high C = 40.6 |Jun record high C = 37.8 |Jul record high C = 38.3 |Aug record high C = 41.6 |Sep record high C = 43.1 |Oct record high C = 46.9 |Nov record high C = 48.0 |Dec record high C = 49.8 |Jan record low C = 0.9 |Feb record low C = 0.5 |Mar record low C = -0.8 |Apr record low C = -2.2 |May record low C = -5.6 |Jun record low C = -6.0 |Jul record low C = -6.7 |Aug record low C = -7.2 |Sep record low C = -5.1 |Oct record low C = -5.0 |Nov record low C = -2.1 |Dec record low C = 0.0 |source = Bureau of Meteorology<ref>{{cite web |title=Australian Daily Extremes Table |url=http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/extremes/monthly_extremes.cgi?area=wa |website=Bureau of Meteorology |access-date=25 November 2020}}</ref> |date=November 2020 | source 2 =<ref name="BBC" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://x.com/Hitchy04/status/1828008763800113360|title=x.com|work=X (formerly Twitter) }}</ref>{{full citation needed |date=January 2025}} }}

===Flora and fauna=== [[File:RottnestQuokka.jpg|alt=|thumb|A quokka on Rottnest Island]] [[File:Black Swans.jpg|thumb|right|upright|The black swan is the state bird of Western Australia]] Western Australia is home to around 630 species of birds (depending on the taxonomy used). Of these around 15 are 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 flora of Western Australia comprises 10,162 published native vascular plant species, along with a further 1,196 species currently recognised but unpublished. They occur within 1,543 genera from 211 families; there are also 1,276 naturalised alien or invasive plant species.<ref>{{cite web|title=2016 Vascular Flora Statistics|publisher=Flora Base |url=https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/statistics/|access-date=3 June 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New linear systematic sequence for vascular plants |publisher=Flora Base |url=https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/articles/sequence/sequence |access-date=3 June 2017|archive-date=15 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215190326/https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/articles/sequence/sequence}}</ref> In the southwest region are some of the largest numbers of plant species for its area in the world.

Western Australia's ecoregions include the sandstone gorges of the Kimberley on the northern coast, and below that the drier Victoria Plains tropical savanna inland, and the semi-desert Pilbara shrublands, Carnarvon xeric shrublands, and Western Australian mulga shrublands to the southwest. Southwards along the coast are the Southwest Australia savanna and the Swan Coastal Plain around Perth, with the Jarrah-Karri forest and shrublands on the southwest corner of the coast around the Margaret River wine-growing area. Going east along the Southern Ocean coast is the Goldfields-Esperance region, including the Esperance mallee and the Coolgardie woodlands inland around town of Coolgardie. Deserts occupy the interior, including the 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.<ref>{{cite book | author = Diels, Ludwig |translator=Carr, D. J. | year = 1981 | chapter = Extra-tropical Western Australia | pages = 47–78 | editor1 = Carr, D. J. | editor2=Carr, S. G. M. | title = People and plants in Australia | publisher = Academic Press Australia | isbn = 978-0-12-160720-3}}</ref>

==Demographics== {{See also|Demographics of Australia}} [[File:Perth (AU), Elizabeth Quay -- 2019 -- 0259.jpg|thumb |The metropolitan area of Western Australia's capital and largest city, Perth, is home to more than 80% of the state's population.]] upright|thumb|left|Population growth 1829–2010

Europeans began to settle permanently in 1826 when Albany was claimed by Britain 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. Its officials eventually requested convict labour to augment its population. By the time transportation ceased in 1868, convicts outnumbered free settlers 9,700 to 7,300.<ref name="nma23">{{cite web |title=Founding of Perth |date=2023-05-04 |website=National Museum of Australia, Government of Australia |url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/founding-of-perth |access-date=2024-06-16 |quote=Between 1850 and 1868 around 10,000 British convicts arrived at the colony. By 1868 the total population was 17,000, with convicts outnumbering settlers, 9700 to 7300. }}</ref> In the 1890s, interstate immigration, resulting from a mining boom in the 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 World War II, both the eastern states and Western Australia received large numbers of Italians, 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.<ref name=abs_2011>{{cite web|title=Country of Birth |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3105.0.65.0012014?OpenDocument |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |access-date=27 October 2014|format=xls|date=1 October 2014}}</ref>

{{further|List of places in Western Australia by population}} Perth's metropolitan area (including Mandurah) had an estimated population of 2,043,138<ref name=ABSCapitalPop>{{cite web |title=3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2016–17: Main Features|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3218.0Main+Features12016-17 |date=24 April 2018|access-date=13 October 2018}} Estimated resident population, 30 June 2017.</ref> in June 2017 (79% of the state). Other significant population centres include Bunbury (73,989),<ref name=ABSSUA>{{cite web|title=3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2016–17: Population Estimates by Significant Urban Area, 2007 to 2017|url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3218.02016-17|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=24 April 2018 |access-date=12 October 2018}} Estimated resident population, 30 June 2017.</ref> Geraldton (37,961),<ref name=ABSSUA/> Kalgoorlie-Boulder (30,420),<ref name=ABSSUA/> Albany (33,998),<ref name=ABSSUA/> Karratha (16,446),<ref name=ABSSUA/> Broome (14,501)<ref name=ABSSUA/> and Port Hedland (14,285).<ref name=ABSSUA/>

===Ancestry and immigration=== {| class="wikitable" style="float:right;" |+Country of birth (2016)<ref name="quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au">{{cite web |title=2016 Census Community Profiles: Western Australia |url=https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/communityprofile/5?opendocument |website=quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au |access-date=22 June 2019 |archive-date=13 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313164658/https://quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au/census_services/getproduct/census/2016/communityprofile/5?opendocument}}</ref><ref name="censusdata.abs.gov.au">{{cite web |title=2016 – Census Output |url=http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/CensusOutput/copsub2016.NSF/All%20docs%20by%20catNo/2016~Community%20Profile~5/$File/GCP_5.zip?OpenElement |website=www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ |access-date=22 June 2019 |archive-date=15 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190315060507/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/CensusOutput/copsub2016.NSF/All%20docs%20by%20catNo/2016~Community%20Profile~5/$File/GCP_5.zip?OpenElement}}</ref> ! Birthplace{{efn|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}} !! 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:{{efn|As a percentage of 2,286,107 persons who nominated their ancestry at the 2016 census.}}<ref name="quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au"/><ref name="censusdata.abs.gov.au"/>  {{columns-list|colwidth=13em| * English (40.7%) * Australian (33.2%){{efn|The Australian Bureau of Statistics has stated that most who nominate "Australian" as their ancestry are part of the Anglo-Celtic group.<ref>{{cite web |first=James |last=Jupp |date=January 1995 |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/abs@.nsf/94713ad445ff1425ca25682000192af2/49f609c83cf34d69ca2569de0025c182!OpenDocument |title=Feature Article – Ethnic and Cultural Diversity in Australia (Feature Article)|website=abs.gov.au}}</ref>}} * Irish (9.8%) * Scottish (9.4%) * Italian (5.4%) * Chinese (4.5%) * German (3.2%) * Indigenous (3.1%){{efn |name="census" |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.}} * Indian (3%) * Dutch (2.1%) * Filipino (1.6%) * New Zealander (1.4%) * South African (1.3%) * Maori (1.2%) }}

3.1% of the population, or 75,978 people, identified as Indigenous Australians (Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders) in 2016.{{efn | name="census"}}<ref name="quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au"/><ref name="censusdata.abs.gov.au"/>

===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%).<ref name="quickstats.censusdata.abs.gov.au"/><ref name="censusdata.abs.gov.au"/>

===Religion=== [[File:Roebourne, Holy Trinity Church.jpg|thumb|Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Roebourne]] [[File:Perth sivan koyil.jpg|thumb|Perth Shiva Temple, major Hindu temple in Western Australia]] 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%).<ref>{{cite web |date=24 July 2022 |title=Snapshot of Western Australia |url=https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/snapshot-wa-2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724092940/https://www.abs.gov.au/articles/snapshot-wa-2021#:~:text=In%20the%202021%20Census%2C%20the,counted%20almost%201.0%20million%20people |archive-date=24 July 2022 |access-date=24 July 2022 |website=Australian Bureau of Statistics |language=en }}</ref><ref name="quickstats">{{Census 2016 AUS|id=5 |name=Western Australia |access-date=26 June 2019 |quick=on}}</ref><ref name="censusdata.abs.gov.au"/>

==Economy== {{See also|Economy of Western Australia|Economy of Australia}} [[File:Brockman 4 Process Plant, July 2019 03.jpg|alt=|thumb|Brockman 4, an iron ore mine in the Pilbara ]] thumb|right|Western Australia's resource commodity mix, 2007 thumb|right|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: * Western Australia contributes an estimated 58% of Australia's Mineral and Energy Exports,<ref>{{cite web |title=Quick Resource Facts |url=http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/7846.aspx |publisher=Department of Mines & Petroleum|date=9 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110311224403/http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/7846.aspx|access-date=9 November 2011|archive-date=11 March 2011}}</ref> potentially earning up to 4.64% of Australia's total GDP.<ref>{{cite web|title=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/1301.0Chapter18012009%E2%80%9310|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |date=9 November 2011|access-date=9 November 2011}}</ref> * Gross state product per person ($97,940 in 2017–18) is higher than any other state and well above the national average ($73,267).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/5220.0 |title=Australian National Accounts: State Accounts, 2017–18 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=16 November 2018|access-date=19 April 2019}}</ref> * Diversification (i.e. a greater ''range'' of commodities) over the past 15 years has provided a more balanced production base and less reliance on just a few major export markets, insulating the economy from fluctuations in world prices to some extent.{{citation needed|date=November 2011}} * Finance, insurance and property services and construction have grown steadily and have increased their share of economic output.<ref>{{cite book |date=August 2005 |url=http://www.dtf.wa.gov.au/cms/uploadedFiles/structure_wa_economy_2005.pdf |title=Structure of the WA Economy |publisher=WA Department of Treasury and Finance |isbn=0-7307-4546-5 |access-date=10 September 2008 |archive-date=1 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001203306/http://www.dtf.wa.gov.au/cms/uploadedFiles/structure_wa_economy_2005.pdf}}</ref> * Recent growth in global demand for minerals and petroleum, especially in China (iron-ore) and Japan (for LNG), has ensured economic growth above the national average.

In 2019 Western Australia's overseas exports accounted for 46% of the nation's total.<ref name=wsj/><ref>{{cite web |year=2008 |title=Australian Economic Indicators|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |url=http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/34CE7FFF9776F3F1CA2574B30017CFB2/$File/13500_sep%202008.pdf |access-date=11 September 2008}}</ref> The state's major export commodities included iron-ore, petroleum, gold, alumina, nickel, wheat, copper, lithium, chemicals and mineral sands.<ref name=profile>{{cite web |title=Western Australia Economic Profile |url=https://www.jtsi.wa.gov.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/wa-economic-profile-0320.pdf?sfvrsn=9bb8711c_4 |publisher=Government of Western Australia, Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation |access-date=17 April 2020 |location=Perth, WA |page=8 |date=March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926054324/https://www.jtsi.wa.gov.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/wa-economic-profile-0320.pdf?sfvrsn=9bb8711c_4 |archive-date=2020-09-26}}</ref>

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 {{convert|306|t|e6ozt|abbr=off}} of gold in 2022.<ref name="ga24">{{cite web |title=Australia's Identified Mineral Resources 2023 |date=2022-12-31 |website=Geoscience Australia |url=https://www.ga.gov.au/digital-publication/aimr2022/aimr-2023-preliminary-tables |access-date=2024-06-12 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=profile/><ref name=usgs>{{cite book |title=Mineral commodity summaries 2023 |date=31 January 2023 |publisher=U.S. Geological Survey |location=Reston, Virginia |doi=10.3133/mcs2023 |isbn=978-1-4113-4504-1|url=https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/mcs2023 |access-date=2 May 2023}}</ref>

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 {{convert|10|e6t|e9lb|abbr=off}}, valued at $2.816{{nbsp}}billion in 2019, accounting for half the nation's total and providing $2–3{{nbsp}}billion in export income.<ref name="cropreport">{{cite web |last1=Wilkinson |first1=Ian |date=9 April 2019 |title=Western Australian wheat industry |url=https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/grains-research-development/western-australian-wheat-industry |access-date=17 April 2020 |publisher=Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, Agriculture and Food division |location=South Perth, WA |archive-date=9 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309030337/https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/grains-research-development/western-australian-wheat-industry |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="WAatAglance">{{cite web |url=http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/EFF65DC1D23D314FCA25741D000DC292/$File/13065_2008_reissue.pdf |title=WA at a Glance 2008|publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics|date=2 April 2008|access-date=10 September 2008}}</ref>

Other significant farm output includes wool, beef, lamb, barley, canola, lupins, oats and pulses.<ref name="cropreport"/> 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.<ref name="LivestockReport">{{cite web |url=http://abare.gov.au/publications_html/livestock/livestock_08/LiveExports.pdf |title=2008 Live Exports |publisher=ABARE |date=31 March 2008 |access-date=15 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719182756/http://abare.gov.au/publications_html/livestock/livestock_08/LiveExports.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2008 |page=9 }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gowestnow.com|title=Go West Now |publisher=Government of Western Australia|year=2008|access-date=16 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121040603/http://www.gowestnow.com/|archive-date=21 November 2011}}</ref> According to the 2006 census,{{needs update |date=June 2024 |reason=There have been THREE censuses since then.}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?&action=401&tabname=Summary&areacode=5&issue=2006&producttype=QuickStats&textversion=true&navmapdisplayed=true&&breadcrumb=PLD& |title=2006 Census QuickStats: Western Australia, October 2007 |website=Censusdata.abs.gov.au |access-date=14 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131209132653/http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ViewData?&action=401&tabname=Summary&areacode=5&issue=2006&producttype=QuickStats&textversion=true&navmapdisplayed=true&&breadcrumb=PLD& |archive-date=9 December 2013}}</ref> 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. [[File:Whale oil tanks at Albany's Historic Whaling Station, April 2022 01.jpg|left|thumb|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 {{convert|146000|oilbbl/d|order=flip|abbr=off}} until its closure in 2021, producing most of the state's petrol and diesel.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bp.com/en_au/australia/about-us/what-we-do/refining.html|title=Refining|website=BP|access-date=30 August 2016 |archive-date=25 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825080619/http://www.bp.com/en_au/australia/about-us/what-we-do/refining.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=McKinnon|first1=Stuart|date=3 April 2014|title=BP sticks by Kwinana despite Qld closure|url=https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/22323082/bp-sticks-by-kwinana-despite-qld-closure/#page1|access-date=27 October 2014|newspaper=The West Australian|archive-date=20 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160920203547/https://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/wa/a/22323082/bp-sticks-by-kwinana-despite-qld-closure/#page1|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.aip.com.au/pdf/Downstream_Petroleum_2007_Report.pdf |title=Downstream_Petroleum 2007 Report|publisher=Australian Institute of Petroleum|date=15 July 2008|access-date=12 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001041851/http://www.aip.com.au/pdf/Downstream_Petroleum_2007_Report.pdf|archive-date=1 October 2008}}</ref> 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 Indian sandalwood (northern WA)<ref>{{cite news | title=Tropical Forestry Services becomes Quintis as the company shifts focus|first=Clint|last= Jasper| website=ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) | date=21 March 2017 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/rural-news/2017-03-22/tropical-forestry-services-rebrands-sandalwood-co-to-quintis/8374366 | access-date=19 September 2020}}</ref> and Australian sandalwood (semi-arid regions), which are used to produce sandalwood oil and incense.<ref name=waspfaq>{{cite web | title=Frequently Asked Questions | website=WA Sandalwood Plantations | url=https://www.wasandalwood.com/faq | access-date=19 September 2020}}</ref> The WA sandalwood industry provides about 40% of the international sandalwood oil market.<ref name=abcdutjahn>{{cite news | title=From the Gibson Desert to New York, these sandalwood harvesters are winning over the perfume market|first1=Rhiannon |last1=Stevens |first2= Isabel|last2= Moussalli| website=ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) | date=5 September 2020 | url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-05/gibson-desert-sandalwood-harvesers-go-international/12453324 | access-date=19 September 2020}}</ref>

===Tourism=== [[File:Broome Cable Beach and camels.jpg|thumb|Camel rides are a popular tourist activity at Cable Beach in Broome]] In the 2000s, tourism grew in importance, with significant numbers of visitors to the state in 2008 coming from the UK and Ireland (28%), other European countries (14%) Singapore (16%), Japan (10%) and Malaysia (8%).<ref name="WAatAglance" /> 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/Publications%20Library/Research%20and%20reports/Fast%20Facts%20YE%20March%202015.pdf|title=Tourism Western Australia : Fast Facts Year Ending March 2015|website=Tourism.wa.gov.au|access-date=17 February 2019|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043947/http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/Publications%20Library/Research%20and%20reports/Fast%20Facts%20YE%20March%202015.pdf}}</ref> 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%.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tourism Satellite Account : Western Australia 2013 – 2014 : Fact Sheet |url=http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/Publications%20Library/Research%20and%20reports/TSA%202013-14%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf |website=Tourism.wa.gov.au |access-date=17 February 2019|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035910/http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/Publications%20Library/Research%20and%20reports/TSA%202013-14%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf}}</ref>

Tourism WA is the government agency responsible for promoting Western Australia as a holiday destination.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tourism.wa.gov.au/|title=Tourism Western Australia |website=Tourism.wa.gov.au|access-date=16 September 2015}}</ref>

==Government== {{Main|Government of Western Australia}} [[File:AUS Perth, Central Business District, Parliament House 002.jpg|alt=|left|thumb|Parliament House]] Western Australia was granted self-government in 1890<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Government of Western Australia|date=11 June 2015 |url=https://www.constitutionalcentre.wa.gov.au/ResearchAndSeminarPapers/LaunchingTheShip/Pages/ProclamationDay.aspx|title=Proclamation Day |access-date=21 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171029211952/https://www.constitutionalcentre.wa.gov.au/ResearchAndSeminarPapers/LaunchingTheShip/Pages/ProclamationDay.aspx|archive-date=29 October 2017}}</ref> 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 {{Current Australian monarch |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|Secessionism in Western Australia}} thumb|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.<ref>[http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/MULR/2000/40.html Review Essay, New Federation History, Melbourne University Law Review] www.austlii.edu.au</ref> 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|date=July 2014}}

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article30087998|title=25 May 1935 – W. A. Secession Petition Disallowed Committee's ...|newspaper=Mercury |date=25 May 1935 |access-date=16 September 2015}}</ref>

===Local government=== Western Australia is divided into 139 Local Government Areas, including Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Their mandate and operations are governed by the Local Government Act 1995.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/wa/consol_act/lga1995182/|title= Local Government Act 1995 |website=Australasian Legal Information Institute |access-date=26 July 2011}}</ref>

==Education== [[File:UWAWinthropHallSunsetcurves gobeirne.jpg|thumb|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://det.wa.edu.au/schoolsandyou/detcms/schoolsandyou/schools-and-you/pre-primary-and-year-7/year-7.en?cat-id=12742035|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717005600/http://det.wa.edu.au/schoolsandyou/detcms/schoolsandyou/schools-and-you/pre-primary-and-year-7/year-7.en?cat-id=12742035|archive-date=17 July 2014 |title=Year 7 students move to secondary school – School education |website=The Department of Education|date=17 July 2014|access-date=17 February 2019}}</ref> 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. 16- 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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.education.wa.edu.au/enrolling-in-school |title=Enrolling in school|website=The Department of Education |language=en-AU|access-date=31 May 2018}}</ref> Students have the option to study at a TAFE college after Year 10,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.northmetrotafe.wa.edu.au/sites/default/files/uploads/TAFE%20Admissions%20guide%20for%20entry%20to%20full-time%20courses%20FINAL.pdf|title=TAFE Admissions guide for entry to full time courses|website=Northmetrotafe.wa.edu.au|access-date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=16 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180516224421/http://www.northmetrotafe.wa.edu.au/sites/default/files/uploads/TAFE%20Admissions%20guide%20for%20entry%20to%20full-time%20courses%20FINAL.pdf}}</ref> or continue through to Year 12 with vocational courses or university entrance courses.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Western Australian Certificate of Education: WACE Manual: General information for senior secondary schooling 2018|date=31 May 2018 |url=https://scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/438192/WACE-Manual-2018-January-2018.pdf|publisher=School Curriculum and Standards Authority|access-date=31 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313032617/https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/438192/WACE-Manual-2018-January-2018.pdf |archive-date=13 March 2018}}</ref>

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|List of newspapers in Western Australia}} [[File:OIC herdsman newspaper house 3.jpg|thumb|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; * ABC TV WA. (Callsign: ABW – Channel 12 Digital) * SBS TV WA. (Callsign: SBS – was on Channel 29 Digital – now Channel 7 Digital since the 2013 retune) * Seven Network Perth. (Callsign: TVW – Channel 6 Digital) * Nine Network Perth. (Callsign: STW – Channel 8 Digital) * Network Ten Perth. (Callsign: NEW – Channel 11 Digital) * Perth formerly had West TV, a free-to-air community television channel that began broadcasting in April 2010 and ceased broadcasting in February 2020. It replaced Access 31, which began broadcasting in June 1999 and ceased broadcasting in August 2008.

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. * Golden West Network (GWN7). Owned by Seven West Media. (Callsigns: SSW South West, VEW Goldfields/Esperance, GTW Central West, WAW remote areas) * WIN Television WA. Affiliated with Nine (Callsign: WOW) * West Digital Television. Affiliated with Ten (Callsigns: SDW South West, VDW Goldfields/Esperance, GDW Central West, WDW remote areas) * Regional WA used to have Westlink. An open-narrowcast community-based television channel that was only on satellite until Westlink's discontinuation in 2018. (Satellite only) [[File:ABC Perth gnangarra.JPG|thumb|ABC studios in East Perth]] In addition, broadcasters operate digital multichannels: {{Div col |colwidth=20em}} * ABC HD (Carried by ABW) * ABC TV Plus (Carried by ABW) * ABC Me (Carried by ABW) * ABC News (Carried by ABW) * SBS HD (Carried by SBS) * SBS Viceland (Carried by SBS) * SBS World Movies (Carried by SBS) * SBS Food (Carried by SBS) * NITV (Carried by SBS) * SBS WorldWatch (Carried by SBS) * 7HD (Carried by TVW) * 7TWO (Carried by TVW and affiliates) * 7mate (Carried by TVW and affiliates) * 7flix (Carried by TVW) * 7Bravo (Carried by TVW) * Racing.com (Carried by TVW and affiliates) * 9HD (Carried by STW and affiliates) * 9Gem (Carried by STW and affiliates) * 9Go! (Carried by STW and affiliates) * 9Life (Carried by STW and affiliates) * 9Rush (Carried by STW) * Extra (Carried by STW) * 10 Bold (Carried by NEW and affiliate) * 10 Peach (Carried by NEW and affiliate) * 10 Shake (Carried by NEW) * 10 HD (Carried by NEW and affiliate) * TVSN (Carried by NEW and affiliate) * You.tv (Carried by NEW) * Gecko TV (Carried by NEW) {{Div col end}}

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, as well as DAB+ multiplexes. ABC stations include ABC NewsRadio (6PB 585 AM), ABC Radio Perth (6WF 720 AM), Radio National (6RN 810 AM), ABC Classic (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), Gold 96FM (6NOW) and AM 882 (6PR), AM 1080 (6IX) and AM 1116 (6MM)

The leading community radio stations are Curtin FM 100.1, 6RTR FM 92.1, Sonshine FM 98.5 (6SON) and 91.3 SportFM (6WSM).

==Culture== === Arts and entertainment === [[File:Hackett Hall, Western Australian Museum, Perth, 2023, 01.jpg|thumb|WA Museum Boola Bardip]] [[File:Art Gallery of WA.jpg|thumb|Art Gallery of Western Australia]]

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 Heath Ledger, Sam Worthington, Ernie Dingo, Jessica Marais, Megan Gale, Rove McManus, Isla Fisher, and Melissa George. Films and television series filmed or partly filmed in Western Australia include ''Rabbit-Proof Fence'', ''The Heights'', ''Mystery Road'', ''These Final Hours'', ''Cloudstreet'', ''Jasper Jones'', ''Australia'', ''Bran Nu Dae'', ''Red Dog'', ''ABBA: the Movie'' and ''Last Train to Freo''.

Noted Western Australian Indigenous painters and artisans include Jack Dale Mengenen, Paddy Bedford, Queenie McKenzie, and siblings Nyuju Stumpy Brown and Rover Thomas.<ref name="abc">{{cite news|last=Lee|first=Tim|date=12 February 2013|title='Grand old man of the Kimberley' dies|work=ABC News (Australia)|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-02-12/27grand-old-man-of-the-kimberley27-dies/4514018/?site=Indigenous&topic=latest|access-date=2 March 2013}}</ref>

The West Australian Symphony Orchestra (WASO) is based at the Perth Concert Hall. Other concert, performance and indoor sporting venues in Western Australia include 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://artgallery.wa.gov.au/about|title=About Us|publisher= Art Gallery of Western Australia|access-date=15 January 2022}}</ref> 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|Sport in Western Australia}} [[File:Shaun McManus attempts a tackle during his farewell match.jpg|thumb|Matches between the two Western Australian teams, the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers, are known as the Western Derby]]

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

* Australian rules football: The West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers compete in the Australian Football League (AFL). They also have women's teams playing in the AFL Women's league. The West Australian Football League (WAFL) is the main local football competition, but other local and amateur football leagues exist across the state. * Baseball: The Perth Heat compete in the Australian Baseball League. * Basketball: The Perth Wildcats (men) and Perth Lynx (women) compete in the National Basketball League and Women's National Basketball League, respectively. * Cricket: Western Australia represent the state in first-class and List A domestic cricket, with the Perth Scorchers competing in the Twenty20 Big Bash League. * Field hockey: The Thundersticks (men) and Diamonds (women) compete in the Australian Hockey League. * Ice hockey: The Perth Thunder (men) and Perth Inferno (women) compete in Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). * Netball: The West Coast Fever compete in the ANZ Championship. * Rugby league: The West Coast Pirates compete in the S. G. Ball Cup. * Rugby union: The Western Force competes in Super Rugby Pacific. * Soccer: Perth Glory field men's and women's teams in the A-League Men and A-League Women, respectively. * Tennis: The ITF Hopman Cup, an annual international team indoor hardcourt tennis tournament. * Water polo: The UWA Torpedoes water polo club competes in the National Water Polo League (NWPL). * Formula 1: The Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo is from Perth.

International sporting events hosted in the past in Western Australia include the Tom Hoad Cup (water polo), the Perth International (golf), the 2006 Gravity Games (extreme sports), the 2002 Women's Hockey World Cup, the 1991 FINA World Aquatics Championships, the World Rally Championships and the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. [[File:Aravina Estate (23244523213).jpg|thumb|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|Western Australian wine}}

Winemaking regions are concentrated in the cooler climate of the south-western portion of the state. Western Australia produces less than 5% of the country's wine output, but in quality terms is considered to be very much near the top.<ref>{{cite book|title= The World Atlas of Wine; 6th Revised edition |publisher=Mitchell Beazley| year=2007|isbn=978-1-84533-414-7|author=Hugh Johnson & Jancis Robinson}}</ref><ref name="Sotheby">T. Stevenson ''"The Sotheby's Wine Encyclopedia"'' pg 589 Dorling Kindersley 2005 {{ISBN|0-7566-1324-8}}</ref><ref name="western australian wine">{{cite web |url=http://www.wineaustralia.com/Australia/Default.aspx?tabid=179 |title=Western Australia |website=Wineaustralia.com |publisher=Australian Gevernment – Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation|access-date=16 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080722023419/http://www.wineaustralia.com/Australia/Default.aspx?tabid=179|archive-date=22 July 2008}}</ref><ref name=ocw-wa>winepros.com.au, ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'' pg 765 [https://web.archive.org/web/20010507220252/http://www.winepros.com.au/jsp/cda/reference/oxford_entry.jsp?entry_id=3564 Western Australia]</ref> Major wine producing regions include: Margaret River, The Great Southern, Swan Valley as well as smaller districts including Blackwood Valley, Manjimup, Pemberton, Peel, Chittering Valley, Perth Hills, and Geographe.<ref name="western australian wine"/>

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

{| class="wikitable" |+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* |25 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 |}

{{asterisk}}Indicates a nation wide holiday

== Sister states == Western Australia has five sister states:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dca.wa.gov.au/DevelopingArtsandCulture/international/inter-government-networks/|title=Sister State Relationships |website=Department of Culture and Arts|access-date=17 February 2019 |archive-date=18 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190218021306/http://www.dca.wa.gov.au/DevelopingArtsandCulture/international/inter-government-networks/}}</ref>

* East Java, Indonesia * Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan * Andhra Pradesh State, India * Tuscany Region, Italy * Zhejiang Province, China

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hyogo.com.au/about-hyogo/hyogo-wa-sister-state-relationship/ |title=Hyogo-WA Sister State Relationship |publisher=Hyogo Prefectural Government Cultural Centre |date=10 April 2015 |access-date=14 April 2016 |archive-date=23 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423002353/http://hyogo.com.au/about-hyogo/hyogo-wa-sister-state-relationship/}}</ref><ref name=Hyogo>{{cite web|url=http://www.wajapan.net/014_OurSisterStateRelationship_E |title=WA-Hyogo Sister State |publisher=Government of Western Australia |access-date= 14 April 2016}}</ref> To commemorate the 10th anniversary of this agreement, the Hyōgo Prefectural Government Cultural Centre was established in Perth in 1992.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hyogo.com.au/about-the-centre/ |title=About the centre |publisher=Hyogo Prefectural Government Cultural Centre |date=27 March 2015 |access-date=14 April 2016 |archive-date=23 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423013128/http://hyogo.com.au/about-the-centre/}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Hyogo/><ref name=garden>{{cite web|url=http://www.wajapan.net/news_e/889 |title=Japanese garden a tribute to Sister State relationship with Hyogo prefecture |publisher=Government of Western Australia |date=1 June 2013 |access-date=14 April 2016}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ajswa.com.au/about-the-ajswa.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130409085909/http://www.ajswa.com.au/about-the-ajswa.html |archive-date=9 April 2013 |title=About AJSWA |publisher=Australia Japan Society of WA |access-date=14 April 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Memorial service pays tribute to Japanese earthquake victims |publisher=City of Perth |url=http://www.perth.wa.gov.au/newsroom/featured-news/memorial-service-pays-tribute-japanese-earthquake-victims |date=January 15, 2016 |access-date=14 April 2016 |archive-date=8 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160508145208/http://www.perth.wa.gov.au/newsroom/featured-news/memorial-service-pays-tribute-japanese-earthquake-victims}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/hansard/hans35.nsf/c02fad1ff7f00ecbc82572e4002d0af9/8137df1a3b82a563482565ff001aa60f?OpenDocument |title=Appropriation (Consolidated Fund) Bill (No 3) – Second Reading |date=21 October 1997 |publisher=Hansard, Parliament of Western Australia |access-date=14 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160422141344/http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/hansard/hans35.nsf/c02fad1ff7f00ecbc82572e4002d0af9/8137df1a3b82a563482565ff001aa60f?OpenDocument |archive-date=22 April 2016}}</ref> 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.<ref name=Hyogo/>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wajapan.net/015_OurSisterCityRelationships_E |title=WA-Japan Sister City Relationships |publisher=Government of Western Australia |access-date= 14 April 2016}}</ref>

==See also== {{Portal|Western Australia|Australia|Geography|Oceania}} * Outline of Australia *  * Government of Western Australia * Mining in Western Australia * Petroleum in Western Australia

===Lists=== * List of Western Australian towns * List of statues in Western Australia * Local Government Areas of Western Australia * {{cl|Lists of people from Western Australia}}

==Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References== <references> <ref name="bla59">{{cite book |chapter=Archipelagus Orientalis sive Asiaticus (Karte 27) |trans-chapter=Archipelago Eastern or Asiatic (Map 27) |title=Atlas des Großen Kurfürsten |trans-title=Atlas of the Great Elector |first=Johannes Willemszoon |last=Blaeu |author-link=Joan Blaeu |year=1659 |location=Amsterdam |via=Berlin State Library ({{langx|de|link=no|Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin}}) |url=https://www.bildindex.de/download.php?medium=mi09259i13&type=large |url-status=live |access-date=5 August 2020 |archive-date=4 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804044014/https://www.bildindex.de/download.php?medium=mi09259i13&type=large}}</ref>

<ref name="ga20">{{cite web |title=Area of Australia – States and Territories |url=http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/area-of-australia-states-and-territories |url-status=live |date=28 April 2023 |publisher=Geoscience Australia, Commonwealth of Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726112116/http://www.ga.gov.au/scientific-topics/national-location-information/dimensions/area-of-australia-states-and-territories |archive-date=26 July 2020 |access-date=2 May 2023 }}</ref>

<ref name="huy95">{{cite report |title=On the yacht Duyfken (1601): The first European Ship known to explore the Australian coast |first=Marit |last=van Huystee |institution=Maritime Archaeology Department Western Australian Maritime Museum |number=105 |website=Western Australian Museum |year=1995 |url=https://museum.wa.gov.au/maritime-archaeology-db/sites/default/files/no._105_yacht_duyfken_1601_1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190214151752/https://museum.wa.gov.au/maritime-archaeology-db/sites/default/files/no._105_yacht_duyfken_1601_1.pdf |archive-date=2019-02-14 |access-date=2024-06-15 |url-status=live }}</ref>

<ref name=knibbs>{{cite book |last1=Knibbs |first1=G.H. |author-link1=George Handley Knibbs |title=Official Year Book of the Commonwealth of Australia |chapter=The Creation of the Several Colonies |volume=4 |publisher=Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics |year=1911 |location=Melbourne |page=16}}</ref>

<ref name="the64">{{cite Q |Q130632460 |access-date=2024-10-24 |mode=cs1 }}</ref>

<ref name="wayb79">{{cite book |title=Western Australian Year Book |author=W. M. Bartlett |number=17 |publisher=Australian Bureau of Statistics |location=Western Australian Office |year=1979 |url=https://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/ausstats/free.nsf/0/D269F393BB0AE162CA257B020012F2FC/$File/13005%20-WA%20YrBook%201979.pdf |access-date=13 September 2020 |oclc=223554105 |issn=0083-8772 }}</ref>

<ref name="Western Australia Foundation">{{cite web |url=https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/agency/king-georges-sound-settlement |title=King George's Sound Settlement |publisher=State Records Authority of New South Wales|archive-date=11 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911033259/https://www.records.nsw.gov.au/agency/king-georges-sound-settlement |access-date=30 August 2016}}</ref>

<ref name="wsj">{{cite news | last = Curran | first = Enda | date = 21 February 2012 | title = Western Australia Plans Sovereign Wealth Fund |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203358704577236780148058626 | work = The Wall Street Journal | access-date = 15 March 2012}}</ref> </references>

==Further reading== * {{Cite book |last=Zuckermann |first=Ghil'ad |author-link=Ghil'ad Zuckermann |year=2020 |title=Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond |title-link=Revivalistics: From the Genesis of Israeli to Language Reclamation in Australia and Beyond |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780199812790}}

==External links== {{Commonscat}} {{Wikivoyage}} * [http://www.wa.gov.au/ Western Australia government's website] * [http://www.westernaustralia.com/au/Pages/Welcome_to_Western_Australia.aspx Welcome to Western Australia], a tourist website run by Tourism Western Australia, the statutory authority responsible for promoting Western Australia as a tourist destination * {{OSM relation|2316598}} * [http://nfsa.gov.au/blog/2012/05/15/west-australian-time-capsule/ Watch historical footage of Western Australia] from the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia's collection. * [http://aso.gov.au/titles/tags/Western%20Australia/ Watch audiovisual material relating to Western Australia] on the National Film and Sound Archive's [http://aso.gov.au/ ''australianscreen online''].

Category:Western Australia Category:1829 establishments in Australia Category:States and territories established in 1829 Category:States and territories of Australia

Western Australia

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