colony · North America and Oceania

Colony of Western Australia

1829 CE – 1901 CE · capital Perth

The vast western colony that began as a struggling free settlement on the Swan River and was transformed by the gold rushes of the 1890s.

Origins

Fearing French claims, Britain established a garrison at King George Sound in 1826 and in 1829 founded the Swan River Colony under Captain James Stirling, with Perth as capital and Fremantle as port. Unlike New South Wales, it was meant for free settlers, who received land in proportion to the capital they brought.

Rule and society

Poor soils, scattered settlement and labour shortages kept the colony small for decades, and in 1850 it began accepting convicts, about 9,700 of them by 1868. Wool, sandalwood and pearling were important, and pastoralists pushed into Aboriginal lands in the north. Self-government came only in 1890, with John Forrest as premier. The gold discoveries at Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie in 1892 and 1893 brought a population boom.

Decline and legacy

After hesitating, Western Australia voted in 1900 to join the federation and became a state of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. Resentment of federal policies produced a vote for secession in 1933, which Britain declined to act on.

Lineage

Colony of Western AustraliaCommonwealth of Australia 1901 CE – present

Connections (1)

More states of North America and Oceania →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Colony of Western Australia. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/colony-of-western-australia
MLA
“Colony of Western Australia.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/colony-of-western-australia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Colony of Western Australia.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/colony-of-western-australia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Colony of Western Australia’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/colony-of-western-australia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻