Geographical size of Western Australia
Australia is a vast and extremely large country with Western Australia being the largest State. Covering 2.5 million square kilometres, Western Australia alone is 10 times the size of the United Kingdom and 6.5 times the size of Japan.
It is essential that the geographical size of Western Australia is considered when planning your holiday and that enough time is allocated to travel to the various regions. We suggest that you use the expert advise and knowledge of Motive Tours when planning your holiday to Western Australia.
Local Custom, ie tipping
Tipping
Tipping is not customary or expected in Australia, however it is appreciated when a high standard of service is provided.
Religion
Western Australia is very multicultural with tolerance and acceptance given to all religions. For specific information relating to your religion and the availability of religious services, please contact Motive Tours.
Many hotels respect larger religions and cultural holidays & festivities and provide the relevant services and requirements.
Clothing
There are no government stipulations or laws relating to clothing, except the requirement to wear clothing in public places.
National Tourism Office - Tourism Australia
Tourism Australia is the Commonwealth Marketing Office promoting tourism to Australia, in particular in various overseas markets. Their website provides most useful information for both, leisure and business travellers. For details click
Tourism Western Australia
Tourism Western Australia is the state tourist commission's official website. A wealth of information can be accessed that will be of interest to both, the individual as well as the group traveller. For details click
What's on in Western Australia?
Western Australia is host to a most diverse range of events throughout the year. With so many major events to offer, Western Australia and Perth put on a wonderful display of talent and sporting prowess for all the world to see. For details click
School & Public Holidays in Western Australia
School Holidays & Public holidays are usually especially busy periods and booking well in advance for tours, accommodation, rental vehicles, cruises or any other activities over these times is highly recommended. For dates click
Historic Milestones
Approximately 70,000 years ago, Aboriginal people are thought to have immigrated to Australia from what is today Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
Archaeological findings of human remains have been dated at approx 30,000 years
1616 - the first Europeans landed on the west coast of the continent
1770 - Captain James Cook sailed the east coast and claimed the continent for Britain, calling it New South Wales. An estimated 300,000 Aborigines already lived on the continent
1788 - the First Fleet arrived in Sydney Cove and established the first settlement
1830 - a penal settlement was established at Port Arthur in Tasmania. Ultimately 157,000 convicts were transported to Australia
1813 - the first crossing of the Blue Mountains (Great Divide) from Sydney, opening up the inland
1825 - first settlement was established in Brisbane. Others to follow were Perth (1829), Melbourne (1835), Adelaide (1836)
1840 - the total Australian white population was 190,000
1851 - the first major gold discovery occurred at Ballarat in Victoria
1858 Telegraph links established between Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney
1862 - John McDouall Stuart crossed the continent south to north
1869 - Darwin finally settled in the north
1873 – Ayers Rock is sighted by Europeans for the first time
1879 - Australia's first National Park was created south of Sydney - Royal National Park
1895 - Andrew Barton (Banjo) Patterson penned "Waltzing Matilda" and other works
1901 - The Commonwealth of Australia was founded with a national government and colonies becoming states as they are today
1919 - The first overseas aeroplane landed in Darwin
1920 – Qantas is founded as a local airline in Queensland and the Northern Territory [Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services]
1923 - Vegemite is first produced
1928 - The Royal Flying Doctor Service commenced bringing unique aerial medical support to the outback
1932 - The Sydney Harbour Bridge was opened
1948 – The first all-Australian car is produced; the Holden
1949 - The great Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme was launched; migrants from about 60 different countries were involved in the single-biggest infrastructure project the country has seen in the 20th century
1956 – Melbourne hosts the summer Olympic Games
1967 - Citizenship was granted to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by a white Australians referendum
1972 - Lake Pedder in South-West Tasmania was flooded despite a major conservation battle
1973 – The Sydney Opera House opens its doors to the public
1981 - The Great Barrier Reef dedicated as a World Heritage Listed (WHL) area
1982 - South-West Tasmania was declared a WHL area
1983 – Australia wins the prestigious sailing trophy – the “America’s Cup”
1983 - Conservationists saved the Franklin River in the Tasmanian wilderness from being flooded for a Hydro-Electric Scheme
1986 - Kakadu National Park declared a WHL area
1987 - Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park declared a WHL area (Ayers Rock / The Olgas)
1987 - Central Eastern Rainforest Reserves declared a WHL area
1988 - Wet Tropics of Queensland declared a WHL area
1992 - A landmark court case recognised that a principle of native land title existed before British settlers arrived
1994 - Australian Fossil Mammal Sites declared as WHL areas (Riversleigh/Naracoorte)
1996 - Australia's population reached 18 million with 50 indigenous and 240 other languages, apart from English, being spoken
2000 - The Greater Blue Mountains National park declared a WHL area
2000 – Sydney hosts the first Olympic Games of the 21st century
2003 – Bungle Bungle / Purnululu National Park declared a WHL area
2003 - Australia's population stands at 20 million
2006 - Australia qualifies for the Soccer World Cup; it is the country's first appearance at the tournament in 30 years
Trivia and Fun, facts and figures
Australia is the world's largest inhabited island
Australia has possibly the lowest population density of any country in the world, ie, 2.73 people per km2 - Japan has approximately 350 people per km2
Australia was most likely first populated over 55,000 years ago, by people from the areas that are today part of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. There are good possibilities that there are rock engravings which are over 100,000 years old [in north-western Australia]
Australia is the world's sixth-largest country
Australia has a land mass of 7,682,300 km2, and the country is bigger than Continental Europe or the United States
The state of Western Australia is three and a half times larger than the US state of Texas
East to West, the continent stretches approximately 4,300 km, from North to South approximately 3,300 km
Australia’s coastline, including the island state of Tasmania, measures approximately 37,000kms.
When driving around Australia, make sure that you circumnavigate the continent anti-clockwise, as it's about 900 metres shorter going this way than clockwise….
Australia has more beaches than any other country, about 7,000 of them
Over half of Australia’s land mass receives less than 500 mm of rain a year. Some outback locations in the country’s heartland can go years without a drop of rain.
The wettest town in Australia, Innisfail, is in north Queensland and it records 3.55 m of rain annually
The highest peak in the country is Mt Kosciuszko in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, and stand at 2,228 metres
The area of Australia that is covered by snow in winter is larger than the area of Switzerland
Lake Eyre located in the South Australian outback. At its lowest point, it is 17 metres below sea level. The lake is usually dry and covers an area of approximately 10,000 km2
The island state of Tasmania was once part of the Australian main land mass. When the melting of the ice caps, approximately 12,000 years ago raised the level of the oceans, it drowned the land-bridge with what is today called ‘the mainland’
The world's longest straight stretch of railway line exists in Australia’s great Nullarbor Plain, being approx 480 km in length. Nearby is a dead straight stretch of road, measuring 148 km long.
The longest coral reef in the world runs the length of the Queensland coastline and is almost 2,500 km long - The Great Barrier Reef. The reef covers an area of 250,000 km2. It is the largest living structure on earth and it can be readily seen from moon!
Some of the country’s largest cattle stations are of the order of 30,000 km2, arguably as big as some nations….
The so-called 'dingo fence' in Australia is the longest fence in the world, and is about twice as long as the Great Wall of China. It has a gate every 19 km along it's length
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