Mid West (Western Australia)

Mid west
The Mid West Region in Australia
structure
State :	Australia
State :	Western Australia
Dates and numbers
Area :	472,336 km²
Residents :	55,584 (2010)
Population density :	0.1 inhabitants / km²
Website: www.mwdc.wa.gov.au

Coordinates: 28 ° 0 ′  S , 114 ° 0 ′  E

Mid West is one of the nine regions in Western Australia , Australia . It is located on the west coast of Australia and extends over 200 km north and south. To the east, the region extends more than 800 km inland to Wiluna in the Gibson Desert . Mid West covers an area of ​​472,336 km² with a population of approximately 52,000 people.

history

For thousands of years, tribes of the Aborigines , collectively called Yamaji , lived in this region , these were the Nanda clans on the north coast, the Nagguja on the south coast, the Amangu around Geraldton and the Greater Geraldton region including the northern Midlands around Morawa , the Wajarri around the region of Murchison near Mullewa and further north at Meekatharra , the Badimia further inland from Yalgoo and at Paines Find and in the area of Mount Magnet . The tribes of the Western Desert were further east of Wiluna at the end of the Gibson Desert and the Small Sand Desert .

Dutch were the first Europeans to set foot in the Mid West region . In 1629 the Batavia came to the region of the Houtman-Abrolhos Archipelago off the coast of Mid West . 48 men of the ship including François Pelsaert came ashore to get drinking water.

European exploration and settlement of the region began in the early 1800s after Perth was settled. Lieutenant George Robert Gray explored the coast as far as Shark Bay, and further expeditions by Robert Austin , Augustus Gregory and Francis Thomas Gregory followed.

Economy

Agricultural use of the region and the mining of copper began around 1850 . The first settlements included Champion Bay - present-day Geraldton, Northampton and Mullewa . When gold was found in the late 1880s, prospectors came to Cue , Mount Magnet, and Yalgoo. Oil and other mineral deposits became economically important in the region later in the 20th century. Fishing and catching lobsters is just as important for the economy as tourism.

The economic conditions fluctuate depending on the location and climate. Near the coast, precipitation falls between 400 and 500 mm, which enables intensive agriculture. Further inland, precipitation drops to less than 250 mm. The inland is economically dominated by the mining of gold , nickel and other metals and minerals .

Local administration

The region's economic and administrative center is in Geraldton . The Mid West region is administered by the following 18 Local Government Areas :

• Shire of Carnamah
• Shire of Chapman Valley
• Shire of Coorow
• Shire of cue
• City of Geraldton-Greenough
• Shire of Irwin
• Shire of Meekatharra
• Shire of Mingenew
• Shire of Morawa
• Shire of Mount Magnet
• Shire of Mullewa
• Shire of Murchison
• Shire of Northampton
• Shire of Perenjori
• Shire of Sandstone
• Shire of Three Springs
• Shire of Wiluna
• Shire of Yalgoo

Web links

Commons : Mid West (Western Australia)  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Yamatji Marlpa Barna Baba Maaja Aboriginal Corporation

Individual evidence

1. ^ Mid West Development Commission - Population . Accessed June 11, 2012
2. ↑ Geography: Mid West Development Commission on History www.mwdc.wa.gov.au . Retrieved February 4, 2011
3. ↑ ^{a b} Mid West Development Commission on History www.mwdc.wa.gov.au . Retrieved February 4, 2011
4. ↑ Climate: Mid West Development Commission on History www.mwdc.wa.gov.au . Retrieved February 4, 2011