Western Australia is the western third of the big south sea island-continent of Australia.

From the tropical north to the temperate south, the state covers many different environments, ranging from modern and historic cities, to forests, rivers, mountains, deserts and more. It is also one of the safest and least discovered places in the world to visit.

There are white sandy beaches to die for, some in tropical paradises such as Broome. Plus, magical harbours and secret forest locations in the south and sophisticated city living in Perth and Fremantle, although without the maddening crowds usually found elsewhere in the world.

There are also many brilliant surfing locations, as shown in the following video.

Once upon a time in the West - just guys having fun

Video © B2iPoynter. Courtesy of YouTube.

The state is surrounded on three sides by water. The Timore Sea to the north, the Indian Ocean to the west and the Southern Ocean to the south. While to the east it shares land borders with the Northern Territory and South Australia.

At this site you can learn about the people, the communities, the events, activities, organisations and culture of Western Australia. You can access relevant websites, to explore and learn more about what it means to live in this amazing state.

The Search button displayed on the left-hand side of each page, enables you to explore and find unique Western Australian websites, covering everything from local aboriginal culture to zumba classes.

Western Australia is an ideal destination for anyone seeking adventure. It is a safe place in which to live and enjoy a brilliant lifestyle.

Much of the state is still pristine as nature intended, especially in the north and the east where there are often no roads, towns or people to be found for hundreds of kilometres in any direction.

The south west of the state is more populated and less wild. Although, traveling the long distances between towns along roads that wind through vast forests, or along the magnificent coastline, provides many opportunities to commune with nature.

Western Australia is the largest state in Australia, larger than Texas, the UK and Ireland combined. Distances between towns outside the Perth Metropolitan Region are often huge, with only relatively small populations living in many remote parts of the state.

With a total population of less than 2.5 million (although this number is increasing steadily) and an average salary that in 2012 is in excess of US$110,000pa, Western Australia is per head of population, rapidly becoming one of the wealthiest states in the world in which to live and work.

With more than $170 billion worth of mining related projects in the early planning stages, the state is experiencing a significant shortage of skilled workers, which will possibly push average earnings even higher during the next few years.

West Australians mostly live outdoor lifestyles and participate in broad ranges of activities and events, including sport, cultural activities, relaxing at the beach, attending events, participating in community activities and eating out with friends and family at any one of the many available restaurants and cafes. Plus, exploring this vast and exciting state.

Lifestyles in Western Australia are very sophisticated, with many high quality homes available which are very large by comparison to the homes usually available to average wage earners in many other places around the world, including in the USA.

Also, during recent years apartment living has become increasingly popular within the state, and many highly sophisticated apartment buildings have been constructed and are still being planned and constructed, especially within the Perth metropolitan region.

An overview

The state enjoys clear blue skies and moderate temperatures for most days of the year. Temperatures in the far north can be very high in the middle of summer, although are cooler at other times of the year. The south of the state is substantially cooler, with snow even falling in some high mountain tops during the winter.

Ranging from the far north of the state to the far south, Western Australia has a wide variety of climates and environments. The far northern areas are tropical and wet, while the southern areas are temperate and the centre and east is hot and dry.

The distance by road from  Kununurra, near the remote far north-east coast of the state close to the border with the Northern Territory, to Esperance located on the far south-east coast close to the border with South Australia, is 3946 kilometres via Perth.

In between these two extremes are towns and cities which range from the world famous tropical resort of Broome to remote outback towns such as Halls Creek, active iron ore mining towns such as Newman and former mining ghost towns such as Coolgardie, plus modern metropolitan cities such as Perth and the charming historical cities of Fremantle and Albany.

Away from the main population centres, lush green agricultural areas such as Harvey, and wheatbelt towns such as York and Merredin dot the broad landscape.

While in the far south western area of the state, the popular coastal towns of Margaret River and Dunsborough provide access to world-class surfing beaches, and the south coast towns of Augusta, Walpole and Denmark enable residents and visitors to experience beautiful scenery and peaceful solitude in remote ocean side, farmland and unspoiled forest settings.

To the east, along the south coast of the state is the historic city of Albany, while further to the east along the road to South Australia the remote towns of Ravensthorpe and Esperance are located. Even further to the east, across the Nullarbor Plain is the small town of Eucla.

Western Australia consists of all the areas of the Australian continent which lie to the west of the 129th meridian. The total land area covered by the state is 2,645,615 square kilometres (or 1,021,478 sq miles) and the state boasts a coastline which is more than 12,000 kilometres (8,000 miles) long.

The resident population of the state is approximately 2.3 million (March 2012), with most residents living within the Perth Metropolitan area. The population continues to grow steadily by approximately 3% each year, with much of this growth originating from eastern states and overseas migration into the state.

To the north of Broome is the vast, beautiful and untamed Kimberley region, where the rocky coastline is deeply indented by gulfs, bays and inlets, and rugged granite bluffs dominate the landscape. The opportunities for exploring, fishing and sightseeing around the Kimberley coastline are legendary.

South west of Broome and running south for hundreds of kilometres, are some of the most magnificent and unspoiled sandy beaches to be found anywhere in the world, including one which is aptly named Eighty Mile Beach. For more than two thousand kilometres the low-lying coastline rises barely more than a few metres above sea level.

This idyllic scene is broken only by rocky outcrops around Cape Leeuwin on the far south-west coast. The coastline then continues eastward along the south coast, broken in places by rocky outcrops such as those found near Albany.

Then, far to the east, close to the border with South Australia and continuing for hundreds of kilometres beyond, magnificent limestone cliffs soar like castle ramparts more than two hundred feet above the Southern Ocean.

Inland to the north of Broome lies a region of alternating high and low plateaus stretching for thousands of square kilometres in the Kimberly region, a magnificent remote land of spectacular, rugged granite mountains and deep valleys.

Traveling inland south from Broome, a vast uninhabited plateau stretches away to the distant horizons. In some locations this great inland plateau comes to within 30 or 40 kilometres of the western coast, producing high escarpments which plunge steeply down to the coastal plains below. The inland plateau covers the majority of the state and continues eastward all the way to the borders with the Northern Territory and South Australia, and beyond.

Toward the south east of the state the plateau rises to an elevation of more than 1000 feet above sea level. Combined with the erosive actions of the Southern Ocean, this elevated plateau has produced the spectacular limestone cliffs which reach all the way to the South Australian border and beyond, along the Great Australian Bight.

The eastern interior of the state consists mostly of arid deserts and low scrub. Rainfall gradually increases when moving to the west of the deserts into the vast although sparsely populated central wheatbelt region, an area which is responsible for substantial grain production and exports to overseas markets.

Substantial areas in the north of the state are dedicated to the grazing of sheep and cattle, these range from locations in which high to modest rainfall is experienced, to arid regions where a single cattle station can be the size of a small European country.

Mineral exploration and extraction are the major economic activities in the northern and eastern regions of the state, with gold, diamonds, iron ore and a broad range of other minerals extracted for export to international markets. Also, offshore oil and gas exploration and extraction industries hold promises of even more mineral wealth in the future.

Tourism is an increasingly important industry in Western Australia, with growing numbers of tourists from overseas and the eastern states arriving in the state each year.

The south west region of the state with its temperate climates, higher rainfall, mild winters and pleasant summers is the main population centre and provides ideal conditions for comfortable lifestyles and outdoor activities.

The majority of West Australians live and work within a region located between Geraldton on the mid west coast, Esperance on the south-east coast and Augusta on the far south west corner of the Australian continent, plus the Great Southern coastal region lying between Albany and Augusta. These south west regions, although similar in area to the size of England, cover only a small area of this vast state.

The majority of West Australians, of who there are fewer than two and a half million live and work within the Perth metropolitan region. However, as the state's economy continues to grow, there are increasing trends toward living and working in the less populated although very popular south western and central western coastal areas of the state.

Find the job you want in Western Australia

The National Broadband Network (NBN)

The rollout of the National Broadband Network will over the next few years enable each home, office, school, farm, station and business throughout the country to enjoy super high speed Internet connections to the world.

This huge national project is one of the largest in Australia's history and will over time permanently change the ways in which many Australians work, learn, shop, communicate, access entertainment and conduct everyday transactions.

Learn more about the National Broadband Network (NBN) and how it will affect you.