AUSSIE FACTS

Good morning well here we are at another Monday and the start of a new month, yep it is May already this weeks Aussie facts are about Western Australia

Western Australia, covering the entire western third of the country, is made up mostly of the arid Outback. Its population is concentrated in its fertile southwest corner, home to the Margaret River wine region and the riverside capital, Perth. In the far north, the Kimberley region is home to ancient Aboriginal rock art, the Bungle Bungle sandstone domes and Broome, with Cable Beach camels and a pearling industry.

Western Australia also has the country's largest gold mine, is the world's largest producer of pearls, the world's largest diamond producer by volume, the country's oldest operating gold bullion mint, and Perth has the highest number of self-made millionaires.

On 25 December 1826 Major Edmund Lockyer, accompanied by a surgeon, storekeeper, officers, and 23 convict tradesmen arrived aboard the brig Amity. Major Lockyer selected a site for military occupation, the first European settlement in Western Australia, and which is now Albany.

In 1827, Captain James Stirling and the botanist Charles Fraser became enthusiastic about the potential of the river, and considered the possibility of a settlement. Stirling founded the Swan River Colony on the 1st of June, 1829.

The coat of arms of Western Australia is the official coat of arms of the Australian state of Western Australia. It was granted by a royal warrant of Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia dated 17 March 1969.

The Black Swan was proclaimed the bird emblem of Western Australia on 25 July 1973. The bird is similar in size and shape to the European species, but its plumage is black, often tinged with brown, and with white wing tips.