Page:Cyclopedia of Western Australia, volume 1.pdf/22

The colony (now the State) of Western Australia was defined in the instructions issued by William IV. to Captain Stirling as "extending from Cape Londonderry in latitude 13° 44' south to West Cape Howe in latitude 35° 8' south, and from Hartog Island, on the western coast, in longitude 112° 52' to 129° of east longitude, reckoning from the meridian of Greenwich, including all the islands adjacent in the Indian and Southern Oceans within the latitudes aforesaid of 13° 44' south and 35° 8' south, and within the longitudes aforesaid of 112° 52' and 129° east from the said meridian of Greenwich."

This was altered in some slight measure by the Commission of Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, dated July 10, 1873, which extended the northern boundary from 13° 44' southern latitude to 13° 30' southern latitude. Briefly, therefore, Western Australia consists of all that part of Australia, with adjacent islands, tying west of 129° east longitude, and is bounded on the west and north by the Indian Ocean and on the south by the Great Southern Ocean.

Though the official designation from the date of colonization has been "Western Australia," the fact that the first settlement (excluding the penal station at King George Sound) and, of course, the seat of government were in the neighbourhood of the Swan caused the new colony to be identified with the name of that river, and it was for some years known, colloquially at any rate, as the Swan River colony or the Swan River settlement.

The coastline seems to fall into two divisions, running north and south of the 18th parallel of latitude. As we go northward from that point we find that it is deeply indented by gulfs, bays, and smaller inlets, while a glance at the map will show the portion to the south stretching out in long lines, almost unbroken by indentations of any kind. The general appearance, too, of the coast seems to change at about the same parallel, and while we go north we see rugged and almost mountainous bluffs; to the south our eyes meet as a rule, except along the south-west round the Leeuwin, long low-lying stretches of sandy shore raised but little above sea-level. The total length of coastline, taking into alculation the numerous bays and inlets mentioned, is approximately 5,200 miles.

The greatest length of the territory is that measured from Cape Londonderry to Peak Head, amounting to 1,480 miles, while at its broadest part, from Dirk Hartog Island to the boundary of South Australia, it stretches for about 1,000 miles. The area of the whole State is set down as 975,920 square miles, or 624,588,800 acres.

Until a few years ago the only part of the State that could be termed occupied consisted of a narrow strip of about 150 miles in width stretching from Albany to Wyndham, and the greater part of that could boast only of isolated townships here and there along the coast. The large expansion following upon the discovery of gold has, however, made a great difference during the past decade or two, and now there are settled communities, so far as any mining community may be called settled, some 400 or 500 miles inland.

The general contour of the territory north of the 19th parallel of latitude is of a mountainous character, consisting of alternating high and low plateaux, principally sandstone in formation, changing, as we go farther north into the Kimberley and Gascoyne country, to a series of rugged mountains which are to a large extent granitic in character.

South of that parallel the structure is practically a vast plateau of Archaean rocks, giving evidence that this part of the State must have been submerged until the most recent geological epoch. With a fairly steep western face, coming in places to within 20 or 30 miles of the coast, this plateau continues eastward across the South Australian border at a height varying from 1,000 to 2,000 ft. above sea-level. Its most southerly point is right on the coast at Point d'Entrecasteaux, from which it sweeps inward, being separated from the sea along the southern shore by a belt of low-lying sandy country, and by the limestone Nullabor