Portal:Western Australia

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Introduction

Shortcut: P:WA

Western Australia is a state of Australia occupying the western third of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent and with a total land area of 2,529,875 km² (976,790.2 sq mi), it is the largest of Australia's states and territories. It is bordered to the east by South Australia and the Northern Territory, to the west by the Indian Ocean and to the south by the Southern Ocean. With 2 million people, the state comprises around 10 percent of the Australian population and ranks fourth in population among the states and territories. The majority of its people reside in the capital city Perth, with most of the remainder settled in the South West region.

The state has been inhabited by Indigenous Australians for around 40,000 years. The first European to visit Western Australia was a Dutch explorer, Dirk Hartog who on 26 October 1616 landed at (what is now known as) Cape Inscription, Dirk Hartog Island. In 1829, the Swan River Colony was established on the Swan River by Captain James Stirling. The colony eventually became a state of Australia on 1 January 1901.

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Selected article

Cyclone Inigo is tied for the most intense cyclone in the Australian cyclone region on record. It developed from a tropical disturbance that crossed eastern Indonesia in late March 2003. Becoming a named tropical cyclone on April 1, Inigo rapidly intensified as it tracked southwestward, reaching a minimum central pressure of 900 hPa on April 4. An approaching trough weakened the cyclone and turned it to the southeast, and on April 8 Inigo dissipated after making landfall on Western Australia as a minimal tropical storm.

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Selected picture

Photo credit: Gnangarra
Westfield Winery is one of the many wineries in the Swan Valley, Westfield was started during the 1920's and has been in the same family since. The owner of the winery was responsible for saving the valley by providing resistant root stock for what was later identified as nematodes.

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Featured content

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Topics

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Related portals

Queensland Northern Territory Western Australia South Australia New South Wales Victoria Tasmania Australian Capital Territory Visit Australia Portal

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Did you know...

• ...that the Black Kangaroo Paw (Macropidia fuliginosa), is a plant native to Western Australia and survives being burned to the ground?
• ...that the wine-producing region of Blackwood Valley is named after the longest continually flowing river in Western Australia?
• ...that Belinda Dann, a member of Australia's Stolen Generation, died just months after being reunited with her family, who had been searching for her for over a century?

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News

• 29 May - $10 billion plan unveiled to build and develop six islands off Fremantle's North Quay. Read more...
• 8 May - State government releases the 2008 budget. Read more...
• 29 April - Perth records its wettest April since records began in 1876. Read more...

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Categories

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Related WikiProjects

Western Australia	Australia
Perth	Maritime History
Literature	Banksia

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Things you can do

Here are some tasks you can do to help with Western Australia:

• The current Australian collaboration of the fortnight article is Murrumbidgee River.

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• Vital articles: To be done. 100 Most Influential Western Australians is a possible starting point
• Requested articles: Alf Barbagallo • Constitution of Western Australia • Dandaragan, Western Australia • John William Dakin  • Flora of Western Australia • Fremantle Harbour • Alistair Hepburn • Kimberley Land Council • George Walpole Leake • Jill Perryman • Lionel Samson • Urban and regional planning in Western Australia • Young Australia League
• Expansion needed: Blackwall Reach (Western Australia) • Busselton, Western Australia • May Gibbs • Heytesbury Pty Ltd • May Holman • Macmahon Holdings Ltd   • Ross McLarty • Mount Henry Peninsula • Murujuga • New Norcia, Western Australia • Whadjuk • Tim Winton
• Requested images: Requested photographs in Western Australia • Requested photographs in Perth
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