After much discussion and debate which resulted in Western Australia winning a number of concessions, a Commonwealth came into being in 1901. These concessions meant that Western Australia could impose customs duties for five years, and that the new Commonwealth would build a railway across the Nullarbor Plain to link Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta in South Australia.

During the next six years West Australians became increasingly discontent with the Commonwealth; no railway had been built and the State's Legislative Assembly passed a resolution to launch a referendum on seceding from the Federation.

Though the railway was eventually built, quelling secessionist notions, today the vast distance of desert isolating the State from the more populous eastern states continues to promote a rivalry between the east and west, and talk of secession has not been entirely removed.

Indeed, in 1933 a referendum was held, and two thirds of those who voted were in favour of quitting the Australian Commonwealth. However, this proved to be constitutionally very difficult, and so the movement diminished considerably.

Mining still remains the backbone of Western Australia. The wealth and scale of operations is not easily imagined, and while mining has ensured the State's economic security, the State's most valuable resource - its unique and diverse landscape - is now appreciated as being of global importance. With these two assets in hand, Western Australia is marked by a great optimism - a far cry from its unsure days of early settlement.

Many visitors are drawn to the region in admiration of its capital city, a beacon of development within a vast landscape, and its spectacular natural attractions including the State's famous wildflowers and beautiful desert landscapes. The magnificent coastal waters off Western Australia and the State's wine districts are also major attractions.

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