Encyclopedia > Mid West region of Western Australia
The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located on the west coast of Western Australia, extending about 200 km north and south of its administrative centre of Geraldton. To the east it extends more than 800 km inland to Wiluna in the Gibson Desert. It has a total area of 472,336 km2, and a population of about 52,000 people. The regions of Western Australia are distinct geographic areas of Western Australia, defined by the government of Western Australia for purposes of economic development administration. ... Motto: Cygnis Insignis (Distinguished by its swans) Nickname: Wildflower State Other Australian states and territories Capital Perth Government Governor Premier Const. ... Geraldton is a town in Western Australia located 424 km north of Perth. ... Wiluna is a town and shire in the Mid West region of Western Australia. ... Gibson Desert The Gibson desert is a West Australian desert named after Alfred Gibson who perished while attempting to cross it during an expedition in 1874. ...
The economy of the Mid West region varies with the geography and climate. Near the coast, annual rainfall of between 400 and 500 mm allows intensive agriculture. Further inland, annual rainfall decreases to less than 250mm, and here the economy is dominated by mining of gold, nickel and other mineral resources. The Mid West also has the highest value fishing industry in Western Australia.
The Mid West region consists of the following local government areas: Local Government Area (abbreviated LGA) is a term used in Australia (and especially by the Australian Bureau of Statistics) to refer to areas controlled by each individual Local Government. ...
Cue is a small town in the Mid West region of Western Australia, located 650 km north east of Perth. ... Geraldton is a town in Western Australia located 424 km north of Perth. ... Meekatharra is a former Western Australian gold town. ... Morawa is a town in the Mid West region of Western Australia. ... Mount Magnet is an old Western Australian gold-rush town . ... Northampton, Western Australia, 52 km north of Geraldton, it is a quiet wheatbelt town. ... Wiluna is a town and shire in the Mid West region of Western Australia. ...
In the early 19th Century, anything west of the Mississippi River was considered the Far West, and the Midwest at that point was the regionwest of the Appalachians and east of the Mississippi.
Because the Northwest Ordinance region, comprising the heart of the Midwest, was the first large region of the United States which prohibited slavery (the Northeastern United States emancipated slaves in the 1830s), the region remains culturally apart from the country and proud of its free pioneer heritage.
The region was shaped by the relative absence of slavery (except for Missouri), pioneer settlement, education in one-room free public schools, and democratic notions brought with American Revolutionary War veterans, Protestant faiths and experimentation, and agricultural wealth transported on the Ohio River riverboats, flatboats, canal boats, and railroads.
The term's etymology is now somewhat archaic, as the region's states were once a part of the Northwest Territory and the region was known as being a part of the "Middle West" of the United States before the Louisiana Purchase.
Today, this region is neither the middle nor the west of the United States (see map), but in fact except for the westernmost states is mostly in the East.
The term "Middle West" originated in the 19th century, followed by "Midwest" and "Heartland", and referred to generally the same areas and states in the region.
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