The Wheatbelt is one of nine

regions of Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is divided into regions according to a number of systems. The most common system is the WA Government division of the state into regions for economic development purposes, which comprises nine defined regions; however, t ...

defined as administrative areas for the state's regional development, and a vernacular term for the area converted to agriculture during colonisation. It partially surrounds the Perth metropolitan area, extending north from Perth to the

Mid West The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

region, and east to the Goldfields–Esperance region. It is bordered to the south by the South West and Great Southern regions, and to the west by the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

, the Perth metropolitan area, and the Peel region. Altogether, it has an area of (including islands). The region has 42 local government authorities, with an estimated population of 75,000 residents. The Wheatbelt accounts for approximately three per cent of Western Australia's population.

Ecosystems

The area, once a diverse ecosystem, reduced when clearing began in the 1890s with the removal of plant species such as eucalypt woodlands and mallee, is now home to around 11% of Australia's critically endangered plants. A number of nationally threatened birds reside in the Wheatbelt, including the endangered Carnaby's black cockatoo and the vulnerable

malleefowl The malleefowl (''Leipoa ocellata'') is a stocky ground-dwelling Australian bird about the size of a domestic chicken (to which it is distantly related). It is notable for the large nesting mounds constructed by the males and lack of parental ca ...

. The Wheatbelt encompasses a range of ecosystems and, as a result, there are a range of industries operating in the region. In the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia there are a number of subdivisions such as the

Avon Wheatbelt The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of . It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion. Geography The Avon Wheatbelt bioregion is mostly a gently undulating landscape with low reli ...

(AVW), and a further breakdown of Avon Wheatbelt P1 (AW1) and Avon Wheatbelt P2 (AW2),

Jarrah Forest Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is ''Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. It is most common in the biogeographic region named i ...

Geraldton Sandplains Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

and Mallee regions.

Industry and economy

Near the coast, the region receives relatively high rainfall and mild temperatures, and its of coastline is a significant

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

area. In contrast, the eastern fringe is very arid, and is mainly used for

pastoral farming Pastoral farming (also known in some regions as ranching, livestock farming or grazing) is aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast ...

of sheep.

Mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow ...

and iron ore also occurs. The remainder of the region is highly suited to

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

, and is the source of nearly two thirds of the state's

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...

production, half of its

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

production, and the majority of its

lamb and mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

, oranges,

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

, cut flowers and a range of other agricultural and pastoral products.

Change

With a range of climate and economic changes in the region, considerable effort is made by government at all levels to cope with the decline of some communities, and create opportunities for ventures that keep population in the region.

Transport

The Wheatbelt once had an extensive railway system, which transported bulk wheat grain. It has been reduced in part, while the main lines are being supported. Grain is transported on the those lines to ports for export from the CBH grain receival points (grain silos), which are primarily located in the Wheatbelt region. Six main highways radiating out from Perth serve the Wheatbelt:

Brand Highway Brand Highway is a main highway linking the northern outskirts of Perth to Geraldton in Western Australia. Together with North West Coastal Highway, it forms part of the Western Australian coastal link to the Northern Territory. The highw ...

(north-west to ),

Great Northern Highway Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...

(north-east to ),

Great Eastern Highway Great Eastern Highway is a road that links the Western Australian capital of Perth with the city of Kalgoorlie. A key route for road vehicles accessing the eastern Wheatbelt and the Goldfields, it is the western portion of the main road link ...

(east to ), Great Southern Highway (east to , then south to ),

Brookton Highway Brookton Highway is a long undivided single carriageway highway in Western Australia, running from the southern Perth suburb of Kelmscott, Western Australia, Kelmscott, through Westdale, to the southern Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbe ...

(east-south-east to ), and

Albany Highway Albany Highway links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany, on the state's south coast. The highway travels through the southern Wheatbelt and Great Southern regions, and is designated State Route ...

(south-east to ). A network of main roads connects towns within the Wheatbelt to each other, the highways, and neighbouring regions, with local roads providing additional links and access to smaller townsites. Roads are often named after the towns they connect.

Local government areas

The following list is the shires listed in the Wheatbelt as designated by the Wheatbelt Development Commission. Some shires in adjoining regions are traditionally considered part of the Wheatbelt – there are shires in the Great Southern, Goldfields-Esperance and Mid West regions that are dominantly grain growing areas. *

Beverley Beverley is a market and minster town and a civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre and north-west of City of Hull. The town is known fo ...

* Brookton * Bruce Rock * Chittering * Corrigin * Cuballing * Cunderdin * Dandaragan * Dalwallinu * Dowerin * Dumbleyung * Gingin * Goomalling * Kellerberrin * Kondinin * Koorda * Kulin * Lake Grace * Merredin * Moora * Mount Marshall * Mukinbudin * Narembeen * Narrogin * Northam * Nungarin * Pingelly *

Quairading Quairading is a Western Australian town located in the Wheatbelt region. It is the seat of government for the Shire of Quairading. History The town was named for Quairading Spring, derived from a local Aboriginal word recorded in 1872 by s ...

* Tammin * Toodyay * Trayning * Victoria Plains * Wagin * Wandering * West Arthur * Westonia * Wickepin * Williams * Wongan-Ballidu * Wyalkatchem * Yilgarn *

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Sub-regions within the Wheatbelt

There are numerous subdivisions of the Wheatbelt, and in most cases the separation is by local government areas.

Wheatbelt Development Commission

The Wheatbelt Development Commission (WDC) breaks the region up into five sub-regions with four offices: * Avon ** Shire of Beverley ** Shire of Cunderdin **

Shire of Dowerin The Shire of Dowerin is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about northeast of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of ...

** Shire of Goomalling ** Shire of Koorda ** Shire of Northam – WDC office in Northam ** Shire of Quairading ** Shire of Tammin **

Shire of Toodyay The Shire of Toodyay is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, beyond the north-eastern limits of the Perth metropolitan area. The Shire covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Toodyay. Hi ...

** Shire of Wyalkatchem **

Shire of York The Shire of York is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, covering an area of just beyond the eastern fringe of Perth's metropolitan area. The Shire's seat of government is the town of York. History The Shir ...

* Central Coast, comprising: ** Shire of Chittering ** Shire of Dandaragan **

Shire of Gingin The Shire of Gingin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, just beyond the northern fringe of the Perth metropolitan area. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is the town of Gingin. Hist ...

* Central Midlands, comprising: ** Shire of Dalwallinu ** Shire of Moora – WDC office in Moora ** Shire of Victoria Plains **

Shire of Wongan-Ballidu Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the beginn ...

* Central East ** Shire of Bruce Rock ** Shire of Kellerberrin **

Shire of Merredin The Shire of Merredin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about east of Perth, the state capital. Its seat of government is the town of Merredin, where 2,804 of the Shire's 3,595 residents live. The Shir ...

– WDC office in Merredin ** Shire of Mount Marshall ** Shire of Mukinbudin ** Shire of Narembeen **

Shire of Nungarin The Shire of Nungarin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, and with a population of 257 as at the , is one of the nation's smallest. It is located about north of Merredin and about east of the state capit ...

** Shire of Trayning ** Shire of Westonia **

Shire of Yilgarn The Shire of Yilgarn is a local government area in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia about east of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is the town of Southern Cross. The main ind ...

* Wheatbelt South ** Shire of Brookton ** Shire of Corrigin **

Shire of Cuballing The Shire of Cuballing is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Cuballing is located north of the town of Narrogin, Western Australia, ...

** Shire of Dumbleyung **

Shire of Kondinin The Shire of Kondinin is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the eastern Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about east of the state capital, Perth. The Shire's land area of ...

Shire of Kulin The Shire of Kulin is a local government area in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about ESE of the state capital, Perth. The Shire's land area of forms a narrow east-west band, located between the Shire of Kondinin to the ...

** Shire of Lake Grace ** Shire of Narrogin – WDC office in Narrogin **

Shire of Pingelly The Shire of Pingelly is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about southeast of the state capital, Perth, between the Shires of Brookton and Cuballing along the Great Southern Highway. The Shire covers an ...

** Shire of Wagin ** Shire of Wandering ** Shire of West Arthur ** Shire of Wickepin ** Shire of Williams

Tourism regions

Most of the Wheatbelt is included in the larger Australia's Golden Outback. Due to their proximity to Perth, however, the following shires are instead promoted as part of the Destination Perth region. The tourist precincts are included: * Avon Valley **

** Brookton ** Goomalling ** Northam ** Toodyay ** Victoria Plains **

* Peel and Rockingham ** Wandering * Sunset Coast ** Gingin * Swan Valley ** Chittering Finally, the northwestern Shire of Dandaragan is promoted as part of Australia's Coral Coast region due to the presence of the larger seaside towns of

Cervantes Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...

and Jurien Bay, which developed independently of wheat-growing.

Other regional designations

The Wheatbelt is separated into other designations at various times as well: *Wheatbelt North East *Wheatbelt Central *The Open Wheatbelt

Notes

References

External links

Wheatbelt Development Commission
{{coord, -32, 118, display=title Regions of Western Australia