Australia

1.                               Australian Stat e- Western and South Australia

This instalment is the fourth of a series of six articles about Australia.  Western Australia is the largest State on the continent.  South Australia is the most unique, in that it began as a British Province that was freely settled.  Read on for more interesting facts.

Western Australia

Western Australia covers the western third of the mainland of Australia.  The topography is that of a low plateau, with a few mountains.  Because of the ancient formations of the landscape the soils are very infertile, which makes for land which is barren and desert-like. 

When the region was first recognized as a colony, it was called Swan River Colony.  Its official foundation began at Perth in 1829, in spite of the fact that a British settlement had begun in Albany in 1826. 

The first European explorer to set eyes on the Perth area was a Dutch sailor, who did so in 1697.  He named the area Swan River in recognition of the numerous black swans he saw there.  About one hundred and sixty years later Captain James Stirling and a botanist, Charles Fraser, were exploring the area and determined that the Swan River could be a resource upon which a settlement could draw to sustain itself.  Stirling named the new settlement Perth, in honor of Sir George Murray.  Sir George, at the time, was a member of the House of Commons, representing the old Scottish capital of Perthshire. 

Unlike several of the other colonies, Western Australia began as a free settlement, and was developed by free immigrants.  It wasn't until 1850 that the penalists were imported and by that time, the colony was well established and settled.  The initial growth was slow, with the population in 1849 being only 1,148.  By 1891, it had reached 8,447, and even by 1911, it only had 31,000 residents. 

Expansion began in earnest with the arrival of the Trans-Australian Railway in 1917 and with the influx of new immigrants in mining towns during the Gold Rush of 1851.  By 1947, Western Australia had 272,528 in populace.  That grew even more, so that Perth and its surrounding suburbs boasted a population of 809,035 in 1981.  

Of special note: Perth is one of the most isolated cities of its size in the world. 

Western Australia is 2,645,615 sq. km (1,021,867 sq. mi.), and has the fourth largest population (2,003,800) in Australia today, with modern Perth being home to 1.43 million by 2003.  That is almost three quarter of the State's total population. 

The self-government of Western Australia was granted in 1889.  It has a bicameral Parliament, which consists of the Legislative Assembly (57 members) and the Legislative Council (44 members).  It is represented in the Federal Government of Australia by 13 members in the House of Representatives and 12 Senators.  The State has the distinction of being the first one to elect an Australian woman as a member of the Parliament in 1921. 

South Australia

In opening, it was stated that South Australia began as a British Province.  This State is the only one in Australia to do so.  It has maintained many of its principles and ideals, which marked its beginnings in 1836.  Another uniquity is that it is essentially a city-state. 

South Australia is located on the south central side of the Australian mainland.  It's bordered on the west by West Australia, on the north by the Northern Territory and Queensland, and on the east by Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.  Its capital city is Adelaide. 

This area was first sighted by a Dutch ship exploring the southern coastline of Australia in 1627.  The skipper decided to name the area "Pieter Nuyts Land", after the most distinguished person on board the ship at the time.  When Matthew Flinders and Nicolas Baudin first mapped the coastline in 1802, Baudin referred to the area as "Terre Napolean".

The British Parliament passed the South Australian Colonisation Act in 1834, which allowed the province of South Australia to be established.  A little over 800,000 sq. km.  (308,999 sq. mi.) was allotted for the province, it was stipulated that it must be settled solely by free people, and it was to be convict-free.  It was meant to be the ideal representation of the "cream" of British society.  There was to be no discrimination or unemployment.  All citizens were to be, basically, equal.  A temporary settlement was opened on Kangaroo Island until the first permanent location (present-day Adelaide) was officially chosen. 

The Government of South Australia is that of a Constitutional Monarchy.  It has a bicameral Parliament which consists of the House of Assembly and a Legislative Council.  The Governor of the State retains the executive power but is advised by the Legislative Council, which has sixteen elected members and eight members who are appointed by the Governor.  It is represented in the Federal Government by eleven members of the House of Representatives and twelve Senators. 

Two points of special interest are that South Australia was the first Australian colony to allow women to vote (1894) and it had the first Parliament in the world which allowed women to be elected as members. 

Today, South Australia covers 1,043,514 sq. km.  (403,056 sq. mi.), making it number four in size of the Australian States.  Much of its land is arid or semi-arid rangelands.  The western portion of the State is largely the Nullarbor Plain, which is predominantly uninhabited. 

The total population (March 2005) is 1,540,200, making South Australia fifth in the State rankings.