Australia's largest state, Western Australia, comprises
a third of the land mass of the continent. It stretches from the
tropical shores of the Timor Sea in the north, down the Indian
Ocean coastline to the wild coastline of the south-west region
washed by the Southern Ocean.
It is a land rich in mineral resources, supported
by huge cattle runs in the north and Australia's tallest hardwood
forests in the south. The climate ranges from the northern tropics
with two seasons, the wet and the dry, to the mild Mediterranean
climate of the south-west with its four distinct seasons. The
landscape is dominated by red earth in the central and northern
regions, awesome jarrah and karri forests in the south-west, lush
tropical growth in the north-west and some of Australia's most
spectacular gorge country in the Pilbara region.
Western Australia is famous for its amazing displays
of wildflowers. They can be found throughout the State but are
particularly spectacular in the south-west, making it a flower-lover's
delight. The wildflowers bloom all year, but are at their best
from August to October when they cover the land in a multi-coloured
carpet, attracting people from interstate and overseas in their
thousands to look and admire. The State's floral emblem, the kangaroo
paw is most unusually beautiful
The first known Europeans to land on the coast of
Western Australia were Dirk Hartog and his Dutch crew from the
ship Eendracht. They landed in 1616, on the island which
now bears Dirk Hartog's name in Shark Bay. Throughout the seventeenth
century, many Dutch navigators on the sea route from Holland to
Indonesia touched the Australian coast, usually after being blown
off course by the "Roaring Forties".
William Dampier was the first Englishman to report
on Western Australia after he landed near Broome in 1688, but
it was not until after Matthew Flinders circumnavigated Australia
in 1801 that it was finally established beyond doubt that 'New
Holland', as Western Australia was known, was part of the Australian
continent.
The State was formally proclaimed a colony on 18
June 1829 by Lieutenant Governor James Stirling who arrived with
the first wave of settlers aboard HMS Parmelia and HMS
Sulphur. They founded the Swan River colony which expanded
to eventually become the city of Perth. The early settlers faced
many hardships including drought, floods, flies and sometimes
hostile Aborigines, which slowed the economic development of the
region. However the discovery of gold in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie
in the 1890s provided a shot in the arm for the fledgling colony
and after the initial 'gold fever' subsided, the settlement of
Perth accelerated with the population reaching 60,000 by 1909.
Perth lies on the banks of the beautiful Swan River,
approximately 19 kilometres inland. Today it supports a population
of over 1,143,000 people and is one of Australia's cleanest and
most picturesque cities. It is a modern city with a skyline that
has changed dramatically in the past ten years and is now dominated
by the imposing R & I Bank Tower. Many of the historical buildings
are still standing in the city and particularly in the port of
Fremantle, 15 kilometres away, where weekend markets provide entertaining
shopping.
Attractions in Perth include many parks and reserves,
the best-known being Kings Park which overlooks the city and Swan
River. The park has a 12 hectare botanical garden, famous for
its wildflower displays in spring and many walking trails through
its bushland. A zoo, galleries and museums, shopping, and trips
on the Swan River provided plenty of entertainment.
Today Western Australia has one of the fastest growing
economies in the country with mineral exports making up over half
of the State's export earnings. Gold is still being mined in the
Kalgoorlie region and further north, although in export value
it has given way to the huge iron ore industry centred in the
Pilbara and the alumina, nickel and mineral sands diggings around
the State. More recently, the opening of the Argyle Diamond Mine
near Kununurra, discovered in 1978, has put Australia on the world
diamond map.
Natural gas deposits in the north-west shelf off
Dampier have proved to be Australia's largest reserves. They were
discovered in 1971, but approval to tap the reserves was not granted
until 1977 when the Federal Government gave a consortium, made
up of Shell, BP, Standard Oil of California, BHP and Australian
shareholders, the go ahead to start the North West Shelf Project.
Western Australia's largest primary industry is its
cereal crops grown in the mid-west region. The south-west produces
the bulk of the State's dairy products, wool, vegetables and fruit
and is also home to the jarrah and karri timber industry. In the
north, the vast cattle stations produce over half of the State's
beef.
Of the State's population of 1,586,000, about 70 per cent, live in Perth, and the majority of the rest live in the south-west and in small towns dotted along the coastline. Away from the coast, most of Western Australia is a vast empty stretch of outback and despite the mineral boom, urban centres of 1000 people or more claim 80 per cent of the people. Western Australia is made up of many different racial groups with half of the population originally from overseas or interstate. Western Australians enjoy a relaxed lifestyle with an emphasis on outdoor activities including sailing, swimming and fishing in the coastal regions and walking, climbing and four-wheel driving in the rugged inland regions.
The main difficulty in touring Western Australia
is the huge distances involved. The more populous south-west is
relatively easy to explore by road but the fascinating northern
regions present problems of distance that require unlimited time
and energy if more than a few particular places are to be visited.
There are a number of alternative routes available
for touring the State, the choice often determined by the season.
The roads are generally good and the main routes open all year
round. Some of the unsealed, lesser-known routes in the north-west
are still only accessible by four-wheel drive, particularly in
the wet season. The State is well endowed with national parks
that provide access to some of the most spectacular beauty spots
and areas of particular interest in every region.