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82-456: Fremantle Harbour is Western Australia 's largest and busiest general cargo port and an important historical site. The inner harbour handles a large volume of sea containers, vehicle imports and livestock exports , cruise shipping and naval visits, and operates 24 hours a day. It is located adjacent to the city of Fremantle , in the Perth metropolitan region . Fremantle Harbour consists of

164-473: A Mediterranean climate on the south-west and southern coastal areas. As of 2021, the state has 2.91 million inhabitants—11 percent of the national total. Over 90 percent of the state's population live in the south-west corner and around 80 percent live in the state capital Perth , leaving the remainder of the state sparsely populated. The Trans-Australian Railway and the Eyre Highway traverse

246-458: A waterside clash between police and workers on Bloody Sunday, 4 May 1919, lumper Tom Edwards was struck on the head with a police baton. He died three days later, leaving a wife and three children. A memorial fountain by Pietro Porcelli was erected in Edwards' memory that year, and was moved to Fremantle's Kings Square in 1968. The Fremantle Passenger Terminal was constructed in time for

328-683: A capacity of 23,200 cubic metres per day (146,000 barrels per day) until its closure in 2021, producing most of the state's petrol and diesel. 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

410-527: A comparative advantage in resource extraction and processing. As a consequence: In 2019 Western Australia's overseas exports accounted for 46% of the nation's total. The state's major export commodities included iron-ore, petroleum, gold, alumina , nickel, wheat, copper, lithium, chemicals and mineral sands. Western Australia is the world's largest iron-ore producer (34% of the world's total), and extracts 66% (6.9% of world production) of Australia's 306 tonnes (9.8 million troy ounces) of gold in 2022. It

492-572: A deep water channel north of Gage Roads, and some seven named channels south. Cockburn Sound is an inlet that extends from the south of the mouth of the Swan River for about 25 km to Cape Peron near Rockingham . The total area of the sound is about 100 km. It is bounded on the east by the mainland suburbs of Cockburn and Kwinana , on the west by Garden Island and Carnac Island , and includes several rocky outcrops and reefs. The Fremantle Outer Harbour consist of, from north to south,

574-428: A fixed platform, often on pilings . Commercial ports may have warehouses that serve as interim storage: where it is sufficient a single wharf with a single berth constructed along the land adjacent to the water is normally used; where there is a need for more capacity multiple wharves, or perhaps a single large wharf with multiple berths, will instead be constructed, sometimes projecting over the water. A pier, raised over

656-459: 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, more commonly known as weeds. 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

738-403: 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. 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. According to the 2006 census,

820-517: 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. The southwest coastal area has a Mediterranean climate . It was originally heavily forested, including large stands of karri , one of

902-553: A scientific paper, General view of the botany of the vicinity of Swan River . It discusses the vegetation of the Swan River Colony . 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

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984-628: 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) and Australian sandalwood (semi-arid regions), which are used to produce sandalwood oil and incense . The WA sandalwood industry provides about 40% of

1066-490: Is 1,862 km (1,157 mi). There are 20,781 km (12,913 mi) of coastline, including 7,892 km (4,904 mi) of island coastline. The total land area occupied by the state is 2.5 million km (970 thousand sq mi). 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

1148-450: 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. Agricultural production in WA is a major contributor to

1230-469: Is attributed by historians as an important factor driving the state's population and economic growth. 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. Western Australia is bounded to the east by longitude 129°E,

1312-458: Is certainly the worst place I or anyone else ever saw. No place to send a ship of this size.... Any man who would come or send a ship a second time is a damned ass." British marine engineer John Coode advised John Forrest an outer harbour near Rous Head, or one that would stretch south from Arthur's Head, could be built. Coode ruled out building a port in the river mouth as he believed it would continually silt up due to lateral sand drift. In 1887

1394-573: Is currently tilted 10 degrees away from the South Pole towards Western Australia, allowing for aurora australis displays as far north as Geraldton . 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

1476-540: Is managed by the Fremantle Port Authority , a government trading enterprise, under the registered business name Fremantle Ports. Fremantle 's port role began immediately after the Swan River Colony was founded in 1829, but the entrance to the Swan River estuary was blocked by a rocky bar, which made the mouth of the river virtually impassable for seagoing vessels. The first steamship to enter

1558-504: 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). By the late 18th century, British and French sailors had begun to explore

1640-400: 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

1722-621: 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 2,527,013 square kilometres (975,685 sq mi), and is also the second-largest subdivision of any country on Earth, surpassed only by

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1804-459: The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games . North Quay is the portion of Fremantle Harbour on the northern banks of the Swan River, built in the late 1890s this area is now primarily used for container shipping. On the western edges is Rous Head a smaller harbour used for vessel maintenance which also includes one of several Rottnest Island ferry terminals. Gage Roads serve as a shipping lane and anchorage for sea traffic heading towards

1886-641: 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

1968-588: 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. Because

2050-520: 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

2132-829: The Postmaster-General in London informed the Post Master-General in Perth that Fremantle would be substituted for Albany as the port of call for Mail Packets. Ten days later the Orient Steam Navigation Company 's RMS Ormuz , homeward bound from Sydney to London, was the first British mail carrier to enter and berth in Fremantle Harbour. In 1901 Fremantle surpassed Albany for the first time in total tonnage of ships and

2214-651: 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. Western Australia 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

2296-496: The Swan River Colony with Perth as its capital in 1829. The Western Australian gold rushes of the late 19th century resulted in a significant population influx. The colony was granted responsible government in 1890, the last of the Australian colonies to become self-governing, and federated with the other colonies in 1901. Western Australia's mining sector is a key driver of the state economy . The late 20th century saw

2378-555: The Wheatbelt and temperate southern coastal regions, pastoralism in marginal grassland areas, forestry in the south-west and fishing (including pearling and, historically, whaling ). 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

2460-597: The staith spelling as a distinction from simple wharves: for example, Dunston Staiths in Gateshead and Brancaster Staithe in Norfolk . However, the term staith may also be used to refer only to loading chutes or ramps used for bulk commodities like coal in loading ships and barges. Quay , on the other hand, has its origin in the Proto-Celtic language . Before it changed to its current form under influence of

2542-489: The tallest trees in the world. 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

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2624-576: The 1890s around Kalgoorlie . 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

2706-659: The 1890s from the southern point of the Swan River mouth is a breakwater to ensure a safe anchorage for vessels in the Inner Harbour. A light house was added in 1903, initially shining white it conflicted with the Woodman point light house, leading to the South Mole light to change to a green beacon. Built in the 1890s the North Mole was extended almost immediately after completion and on a number of occasions since,

2788-433: 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%). 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

2870-873: The Alcoa Jetty, the Kwinana Bulk Terminal, the BP Oil Refinery Jetty, the Kwinana Bulk Jetty and the CBH Grain Jetty . Of these, the Kwinana Bulk Terminal and the Kwinana Bulk Jetty are operated by Fremantle Ports and serve for the import and export of bulk cargoes and liquids, among them iron ore, coal, cement clink, gypsum, liquefied natural gas , petroleum and fertiliser. The other three facilities are privately operated. The Outer Harbour deepwater bulk facilities in at Kwinana were first developed in 1955, to service

2952-528: The Fremantle Chamber of Commerce pushed hard for the southern scheme to be chosen, but the Colony could not raise the estimated cost of £500,000. By 1891 Forrest was examining another proposal: an offshore facility at Owen Anchorage south of Fremantle. But by then Charles Yelverton O'Connor had been appointed the Colony's Engineer-in-Chief, and decided the best option was an inner harbour built in

3034-648: The Inner Harbour, which is situated on the mouth of the Swan River ; the Outer Harbour , which is 20 km (12 mi) south at Kwinana in Cockburn Sound and handles bulk cargo ports, grain, petroleum, liquefied petroleum gas , alumina, mineral sands, fertilisers, sulphur and other bulk commodities; and Gage Roads , which is the anchorage between Rottnest Island and the mainland. The Inner Harbour includes northern and southern wharves named North Quay and Victoria Quay respectively. All of this area

3116-542: The Kwinana industrial area, and saw rapid expansion in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1928 the Signal Station at Fremantle was moved from Arthur Head to a site on Cantonment Hill . This building was replaced in 1956 by a new structure, whose functions were superseded in 1964 by the opening of a signal station on the new Port Authority administration building, which was opened by Premier David Brand on 5 March. Built in

3198-619: The Long Jetty: in 1892 Captain D.B. Shaw of the American barque Saranac described it as "terrible": "... entered and fought against putting the vessel alongside jetty to discharge. It is a terrible place. No place to put a vessel. No shelter whatever. All the ships have to lay and discharge at the wharf or pay lighterage.... It is blowing a gale from the SW ... and takes all our time to hold her.... She had done considerable damage to herself.... It

3280-421: The North Mole. Blasting and dredging the rocky bar created a channel, dredging deepened the river basin, and two moles were built to protect the harbour entrance. Land was reclaimed so quays and warehouses could be built. The inner harbour was opened on 4 May 1897 when the steamer Sultan drawing just one foot of water with Lady Forrest at the wheel was the first ship to enter the partly built port. "While

3362-755: The Republic of Ireland, and may also refer to neighbourhoods and roadways running along the wayside (for example, Queen's Quay in Toronto and Belfast ). The term wharf is more common in the United States. In some contexts wharf and quay may be used to mean pier , berth , or jetty . In old ports such as London (which once had around 1700 wharves ) many old wharves have been converted to residential or office use. Certain early railways in England referred to goods loading points as "wharves". The term

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3444-582: The Up-River Extensions Scheme, and included new berths at the container terminal. The ship would then proceed to Sydney to unload and uplift more containers before proceeding to Melbourne . By 1970, Fremantle Port had moved 50,000 containers. A statue honouring C. Y. O'Connor was erected on Victoria Quay on 23 June 1911. It now stands near the entrance to the Fremantle Ports administration building on Cliff Street. During

3526-587: The Western Australian coast. The Baudin expedition of 1800–03 included the coast of Western Australia and resulted in the Freycinet Map of 1811 , the first published map featuring the full outline of Australia. The name New Holland remained in popular and semi-official use until at least the mid-1850s; that is, it was in use for about 206 years in comparison to the name Australia which to date has been in use for about 195 years. The origins of

3608-805: 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

3690-626: The coast of Western Australia. On 7 March 1831 it was transferred to the control of the Swan River Colony, 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. The two separate townsites of

3772-730: The coastal plains, in some cases forming a sharp escarpment (as with the Darling Range/ Darling Scarp near Perth). The extreme age of the landscape has meant that the soils are remarkably infertile and frequently laterised . Even soils derived from granitic bedrock contain an order of magnitude less available phosphorus and only half as much nitrogen as soils in comparable climates in other continents. Soils derived from extensive sandplains or ironstone are even less fertile, nearly devoid of soluble phosphate and deficient in zinc , copper, molybdenum and sometimes potassium and calcium . The infertility of most of

3854-425: The colony developed slowly into the port city of Fremantle and the state's capital, Perth . York was the first inland settlement in Western Australia, situated 97 kilometres (60 mi) east of Perth and settled on 16 September 1831. York was the staging point for early explorers who discovered the rich gold reserves of Kalgoorlie. Population growth was very slow until significant discoveries of gold were made in

3936-432: 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

4018-569: 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. An exception to this

4100-589: The end of the westernmost point of the harbour. As the port neared completion, Forrest lobbied the British to have Fremantle as the port of call for the Mail Packets. Victoria and New South Wales fought for the retention of Albany as the Mail Packet port, as they were fearful they would lose business. Forrest threatened Western Australia may stay out of the proposed federation of Australian colonies unless they agreed. On 3 August 1900, Forrest won when

4182-647: The entrance to the harbour where the Western Australian Maritime Museum is now located was also an important part of the wartime role of the harbour. On 28 March 1969, the first container ship to arrive in Australia, Encounter Bay from the United Kingdom docked at Fremantle's new container terminal. The terminal itself was officially opened the following day by WA Premier Sir David Brand. The expansion scheme began in 1965 as

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4264-409: The following year in the number of ships when it cleared 410 ships (1,045,170 tons) to Albany's 248 ships (540,910 tons). The railway from the harbour was constructed in the 1880s, and continued to be developed with railway workshops (later moved to Midland Junction ), railway sheds, railway marshalling yards, locomotive depots, and in 1907 Fremantle railway station was opened. During World War II,

4346-611: 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

4428-466: 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. Perth's metropolitan area (including Mandurah ) had an estimated population of 2,043,138 in June 2017 (79% of

4510-684: The harbour accommodated scores of Allied naval vessels on active service. Battleships, troop transports, hospital ships and support vessels, including many passenger ships , were seconded into the war effort. Visitors to Fremantle during the conflict included passenger liners and converted troop carriers RMS Queen Elizabeth and RMS Queen Mary . Because of their size neither was able to take up an inner harbour berth, and instead anchored in Gage Roads . Other well-known ships to visit included RMS Strathaird , RMS Strathnaver , RMS Orion and RMS Otranto . In 1940 boom defences were installed in

4592-440: The harbour as a security measure and anti-aircraft installations were built. By January 1941 an anti-submarine indicator loop was installed between Swanbourne and Rottnest to warn of any ships passing over it. Outer harbour defences included an anti-submarine net spanning 9370 metres of seabed from Woodman Point to Garden Island along Parmelia Bank , as well as another indicator loop 183 metres further north. Following

4674-471: The harbour has been deepened, and facilities extended and modernised over the years, the basic structure of the Inner Harbour remains essentially unchanged to this day, testament to the boldness, brilliance and foresight of its designer." There are two lighthouses on either side of the entrance to the harbour, the green-coloured South Mole Lighthouse, in operation since 1903, and the red-painted North Mole Lighthouse , which commenced operation in 1906, located at

4756-494: The international sandalwood oil market. In recent years, tourism has grown in importance, with significant numbers of visitors to the state coming from the UK and Ireland (28%), other European countries (14%) Singapore (16%), Japan (10%) and Malaysia (8%). Revenue from tourism is a strong economic driver in many of the smaller population centres outside of Perth, especially in coastal locations. Quay A wharf commonly comprises

4838-514: The losses of battleships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse on 10 December 1941 and the fall of Singapore in March 1942, many ships sought refuge at Fremantle; at times 30 were at anchor in Gage Roads. "In the inner harbour, it was ... a common sight to see up to as many as four vessels of substantial size lying in tier, and it was due solely to the circumstances forced upon the port and

4920-431: 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. Located south of Perth, the heavy industrial area of Kwinana had the nation's largest oil refinery with

5002-426: The meridian 129 degrees east of Greenwich, which defines the border with South Australia and the Northern Territory , 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 . The total length of the state's eastern border

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5084-668: The most recent being in the late 1980s, to allow for the addition of an entrance into the Rous Head harbour that was being constructed. Situated on the western end of the mole is a light house . Initially this shone with green light but was changed to red after it became necessary to alter the white light on the south mole to green. The harbour is listed as a National Engineering Landmark by Engineers Australia as part of its Engineering Heritage Recognition Program . [REDACTED] Media related to Fremantle Harbour at Wikimedia Commons Western Australia Western Australia (WA)

5166-528: The mouth of the Swan River. The discovery of gold in Western Australia meant a working port was urgently needed, Parliament finally accepted O'Connor's plan after much political haggling, the capital was raised in London and preliminary work commenced late in 1892. The first stage of the harbour works began with a ceremony in which the Governor's wife, Lady Robinson, tilted the first truck load of rubble for

5248-513: The north "over 50,000 years ago and possibly as much as 70,000 years ago". Over thousands of years they eventually spread across the whole landmass. These Indigenous Australians were long established throughout Western Australia by the time European explorers began to arrive in the early 17th century. The first Europeans to visit Western Australia were those of the Dutch Dirk Hartog expedition, who on 25 October 1616 landed at what

5330-793: The northeast and east of England the term staith or staithe (from the Norse for landing stage) is also used. The two terms have historically had a geographical distinction: those to the north in the Kingdom of Northumbria used the Old English spelling staith , southern sites of the Danelaw took the Danish spelling staithe . Both originally referred to jetties or wharves. In time, the northern coalfields of Northumbria developed coal staiths specifically for loading coal onto ships and these would adopt

5412-538: 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

5494-464: 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

5576-443: 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%). 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

5658-414: The port for some weeks." Fremantle Submarine Base was the largest submarine base in the southern hemisphere during World War II. The first United States submarines arrived at Fremantle in 1942, the US Navy built a submarine repair facility on North Quay the next year, and until 1945 the port accommodated more than 170 submarines from the U.S., British and Dutch navies. The slipway on the south side of

5740-473: The port of Fremantle. The area is the most northern of one of four coastal basins formed from the flooding of a depression between Pleistocene aeolianite ridges running north–south, and the subsequent deposition of east–west Holocene banks. The seabed of Gage Roads is covered by seagrass . The limits of the Inner and Outer Harbour go north beyond Gage Roads and Rottnest to a line west of Trigg , and south into most of Cockburn Sound. The outer harbour has

5822-433: The port was HMS Driver on 4 December 1845. Fremantle shipping was served by the Long Jetty that extended into the open sea, where Bathers Beach is today. Cargo was offloaded onto the jetty and then taken down Cliff Street in Fremantle's West End. It was loaded onto barges that sailed up the river on the westerly sea breeze and back to Fremantle on easterly winds. Later it was transported by rail. Sailors disliked

5904-474: The present state began with the establishment by Lockyer 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

5986-400: The prevailing weather conditions that such a state of affairs could be permitted. Altogether, some 75 vessels were using the inner and outer harbours at one and the same time, and in the fortnight ending 20 March, a total of 103 vessels, Naval and merchant, and mainly seeking refuge, arrived at the port. Until these vessels could be ordered to some other destination, acute conditions persisted at

6068-550: The raising of a loan to construct a pipeline to transport 23 megalitres (5 million imperial gallons) of water per day to the burgeoning population on the goldfields. The pipeline, known as the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme , was completed in 1903.  C. Y.  O'Connor , Western Australia's first engineer-in-chief, designed and oversaw the construction of the pipeline. It carries water 530 km (330 mi) from Perth to Kalgoorlie , and

6150-401: The soils has required heavy application by farmers of fertilisers. These have resulted in damage to invertebrate and bacterial populations. 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

6232-555: The state and national economy. In the period 2010–2019 wheat production in WA has averaged nearly 10 million tonnes (22 billion pounds), valued at $ 2.816   billion in 2019, accounting for half the nation's total and providing $ 2–3   billion in export income. Other significant farm output includes wool, beef, lamb, barley, canola, lupins, oats and pulses. 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

6314-451: The state). Other significant population centres include Bunbury (73,989), Geraldton (37,961), Kalgoorlie-Boulder (30,420), Albany (33,998), Karratha (16,446), Broome (14,501) and Port Hedland (14,285). At the 2016 census, the most commonly nominated ancestries were: 3.1% of the population, or 75,978 people, identified as Indigenous Australians ( Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders ) in 2016. At

6396-550: The time transportation ceased in 1868, convicts outnumbered free settlers 9,700 to 7,300. 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

6478-422: The water rather than within it, is commonly used for cases where the weight or volume of cargos will be low. Smaller and more modern wharves are sometimes built on flotation devices ( pontoons ) to keep them at the same level as the ship, even during changing tides. In everyday parlance the term quay (pronounced 'key') is common in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and many other Commonwealth countries, and

6560-719: Was carried over from marine usage. The person who was resident in charge of the wharf was referred to as a "wharfinger". The word wharf comes from the Old English hwearf , cognate to the Old Dutch word werf , which both evolved to mean "yard", an outdoor place where work is done, like a shipyard ( Dutch : scheepswerf ) or a lumberyard (Dutch: houtwerf ). Originally, werf or werva in Old Dutch ( werf , wer in Old Frisian ) simply referred to inhabited ground that

6642-461: Was not yet built on (similar to " yard " in modern English), or alternatively to a terp . This could explain the name Ministry Wharf located at Saunderton, just outside High Wycombe, which is nowhere near any body of water. In support of this explanation is the fact that many places in England with "wharf" in their names are in areas with a high Dutch influence, for example the Norfolk broads. In

6724-653: Was reported in the Perth Hills , as far north as Wongan Hills and as far east as Salmon Gums . However, even in the Stirling Range, snowfalls rarely exceed 5 cm (2 in) and rarely settle for more than one day. The highest observed temperature of 50.7 °C (123.3 °F) was recorded in Onslow on 13 January 2022. The lowest temperature recorded was −7.2 °C (19.0 °F) at Eyre Bird Observatory on 17 August 2008. The south geomagnetic pole

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