View source for Goldfields–Esperance

{{Short description|Region of Western Australia}}
{{Coord|-31|123|display=title}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2012}}
{{also|Gold mining in Western Australia}}
{{Infobox Australian place
| name = Goldfields–Esperance
| state = wa
| type = region
| image = {{maplink
|plain=yes
|frame=yes
|frame-width=300
|frame-height=300
|frame-align=center
|zoom=4
|frame-coord={{coord |-28.95717 |123.71881 }}

|from=Western Australian region - Goldfields-Esperance.map
}}
| caption = Extent of Goldfields–Esperance region
| lga = {{Collapsible list|
* [[Shire of Coolgardie]]
* [[Shire of Dundas]]
* [[Shire of Esperance]]
* [[City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder]]
* [[Shire of Laverton]]
* [[Shire of Leonora]]
* [[Shire of Menzies]]
* [[Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku]]
* [[Shire of Ravensthorpe]]
* [[Shire of Wiluna]]
}}
| stategov = [[Electoral district of Kalgoorlie|Kalgoorlie]]
| stategov2 = [[Electoral district of North West Central|North West Central]]
| stategov3 = [[Electoral district of Roe|Roe]]
| fedgov = [[Division of O'Connor|O'Connor]]
}}
The '''Goldfields–Esperance''' region is one of the nine [[regions of Western Australia]]. It is located in the south-eastern corner of [[Western Australia]], and comprises the [[local government areas of Western Australia|local government areas]] of [[Shire of Coolgardie|Coolgardie]], [[Shire of Dundas|Dundas]], [[Shire of Esperance|Esperance]], [[City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder|Kalgoorlie–Boulder]], [[Shire of Laverton|Laverton]], [[Shire of Leonora|Leonora]], [[Shire of Menzies|Menzies]], [[Shire of Ngaanyatjarraku|Ngaanyatjarraku]], [[Shire of Ravensthorpe|Ravensthorpe]] and [[Shire of Wiluna|Wiluna]].<ref name=Remplan>{{Citation | author1=Government of Western Australia. Goldfields–Esperance Development Commission | title=Our Place - Our Community | date= | publisher= | url=https://app.remplan.com.au/goldfieldsesperanceregion/community/summary?state=aM2lIX39oFOemv2UMAYRO2TBtdtYWp | access-date=15 March 2023 }}</ref>

It also incorporates the area along the [[Great Australian Bight]] to the [[South Australia]]n border known as the [[Nullarbor Plain]].

==Geography==
The Goldfields–Esperance region is the largest of Western Australia's regions, with an area of {{convert|955276|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}.<ref name=REM>{{cite web|url=https://www.gedc.wa.gov.au/our-region/community-profile/ |title=Goldfields-Esperance Region Demographic and Community Insights |date=2024 |access-date=20 November 2024 |publisher=Goldfields Esperance Development Commission |url-status= |archive-url= |archive-date=}}</ref> It is mostly a low and flat plateau of extremely ancient [[Precambrian]] rocks that have been stable since long before the [[Paleozoic]] Era. Because of the extreme geological stability and the absence of glaciation since the [[Carboniferous]], the soils are extremely infertile and generally quite saline. Consequently, the region supports the lowest stocking rates in the world: it is considered that one [[sheep]] per square mile is the maximum sustainable rate except in the small wetter area near Esperance. There are no rivers; any rainfall that is not absorbed by the dense rooting systems of the native flora percolates to form extremely [[saline water|saline]] [[groundwater]], which is very frequently too salty even for adult sheep.

In the 1890s the ''goldfields'' term was used for country between [[Southern Cross, Western Australia|Southern Cross]] and [[Coolgardie, Western Australia|Coolgardie]]; however, as the gold fields extended to Kalgoorlie and beyond, the term ''Eastern Goldfields'' was used for the locations in vicinity of Kalgoorlie at that stage.<ref>{{Citation |author1=Compton, G. Spencer |title=The eastern goldfields : Kalgoorlie and Boulder |date=1953 |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/18088627 |publisher=G.S. Compton? |accessdate=10 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |title=Eastern Goldfields : a century of secondary education, 1914 - 2014 |date=2014 |url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/192046913 |publisher=[Kalgoorlie, W.A.] [Eastern Goldfields High School?] |accessdate=10 August 2016}}</ref>

The [[Little Sandy Desert]] and the [[Gibson Desert]] are found in the northern part of the region, with the [[Great Victoria Desert]] in the south east.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencewa.net.au/explore-by-region/goldfieldsesperance/the-goldfieldsesperance.html|title=About the Goldfields–Esperance|year=2012|access-date=13 January 2013|publisher=Science Network Western Australia|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121213051436/http://www.sciencewa.net.au/explore-by-region/goldfieldsesperance/the-goldfieldsesperance.html|archive-date=13 December 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Climate==
The climate is mostly hot and dry. Annual rainfall is typically around {{convert|250|mm|0}} per year and can be very variable, except in the small area near [[Esperance, Western Australia|Esperance]] and [[Cape Arid National Park]] where reliable winter rainfall can give annual totals as high as 635&nbsp;mm (25 inches) falling mainly in the winter months. Most rainfall is produced by [[thunderstorm]]s in spring or summer or by cloudbands from the northwest in autumn and winter, but sometimes cyclones from the [[Pilbara]] decay into rain depressions and produce heavy rainfall. [[Climate change]] has already had a major impact{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}: in the Kalgoorlie – [[Eucla, Western Australia|Eucla]] – [[Wiluna, Western Australia|Wiluna]] – Giles area annual rainfall has increased by over 40 percent since 1967 – probably due to lower frequencies of [[anticyclone]]s located over the interior of Australia instead of the adjacent oceans.

==Population==
The region has a population of just under 60,000 people,<ref name=REM/> about half of whom live in the [[City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder]].  Another quarter live in the [[Shire of Esperance]], and the remaining shires are very sparsely populated.  Nearly 10% of the region's population are of [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] descent, which is substantially higher than the state as a whole.

==Economy==
The economy of the Goldfields sub-region is based on the extraction and processing of various mineral resources, primarily [[gold]] and [[nickel]]. In 2012 the mining of gold, nickel and [[platinum]] yielded just under {{AUD|9{{nbsp}}billion|link=yes}},<ref name=R4R>{{cite web|url=http://www.gedc.wa.gov.au/Information-centre/Economic-Profile.aspx|title=Goldfields Esperance economic profile|year=2013|access-date=13 January 2014|publisher=Goldfields Esperance Development Commission}}</ref> equivalent to {{AUD|{{Inflation|AU|9|2012|r=2}}{{nbsp}}billion}} in {{Inflation/year|AU}}.

[[Pastoralism]] in the northern goldfields commenced in the early 1900s with [[Yundamindera Station]] being established by Dr. Laver. In 1923 Yundmindera was purchased along with [[Mount Celia Station]] with a combined area of over {{convert|1000000|acre|km2|0}} by T. H. Pearse, who stocked the property with sheep. Between 1925 and 1928 {{clarify span|more eastern states pastoralists scores of leases|date=February 2020}} were established, and over [[Australian pound|£A]]{{nbsp}}1.5 million, equivalent to {{AUD|{{Inflation|AU|1.5|1928|r=2}}{{nbsp}}million}} in {{Inflation/year|AU}}, was invested in properties in the northern and eastern goldfields. In three months of 1925 over 40,000 sheep were railed to the area and in one month of 1927 seven trains carrying sheep arrived. By 1934 the goldfields were stocked with over 500,000 sheep and 25,000 cattle. Shearing the same year produced approximately 11,667 [[wool bale|bales of wool]] valued at £A{{nbsp}}243,600,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33243651 |title=From gold to sheep|newspaper=[[The West Australian]]|location=Perth|date=1 June 1934|access-date=21 June 2014|page=17|publisher=National Library of Australia}}</ref> equivalent to {{AUD|{{Inflation|AU|{{#expr:243600/10^6}}|1934|r=2}}{{nbsp}}million}} in {{Inflation/year|AU}}.

Further south near [[Esperance, Western Australia|Esperance]], the economy is based on [[agriculture]], with [[wheat]], [[canola]] and [[barley]] widely grown and making up about 80% of the area's agricultural economy.<ref name=R4R/> These crops require huge inputs of [[fertiliser]]s because of the sandy nature of the soils and are a major threat to the region's great plant diversity. In 2021–22, the Esperance zone harvested {{convert|3.55|e6t|e9lb|abbr=off}} of grain.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbh.com.au/news/2022/01/cbh-receives-more-than-21-million-tonnes |title=CBH receives more than 21 million tonnes|date=10 January 2022|access-date=30 May 2022|page=1|publisher=Co-operative Bulk Handling Australia}}</ref> Pastoralism is also common, with both [[sheep station|sheep]] and [[cattle station]]s being common in the area. Along the coast fishing and aquaculture are common, with fisheries for [[abalone]], [[pilchard]]s and [[shark]]s.<ref name=R4R/>

== See also ==
* [[Goldfields–Esperance historical timeline]]

==References==
{{Reflist |30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.gedc.wa.gov.au/ Goldfields–Esperance Development Commission]

{{subject bar |auto=y |portal1=Western Australia |portal2=Geography }}
{{Western Australian regions}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldfields-Esperance}}
[[Category:Regions of Western Australia]]
[[Category:Goldfields–Esperance]]