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 division of the state by the Government of Western Australia in 1993 into regions for economic development purposes, which comprises ...

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 The Perth metropolitan region or the Perth metropolitan area is the administrative area and geographical extent of the Western Australian capital city of Perth and its conurbation. It generally includes the coastal strip from Two Rocks in the ...

, extending north from Perth to the

Mid West The Mid West region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is a sparsely populated region extending from the west coast of Western Australia, about north and south of its administrative centre of Geraldton and inland to east of W ...

region, and east to the

Goldfields–Esperance 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 Coolgardie, Dundas, Esperance, Kalgoorlie–Boul ...

region. It is bordered to the south by the

South West Southwest is a compass point. Southwest, south-west, south west, southwestern or south-western or south western may also refer to: * Southwest (direction), an intercardinal direction Geography *South West Queensland, Australia *South West (Weste ...

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 approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, the Perth metropolitan area, and the

Peel Peel or Peeling may refer to: Places Australia * Peel (Western Australia) * Peel, New South Wales * Peel River (New South Wales) Canada * Peel Parish, New Brunswick * Peel, New Brunswick, an unincorporated community in Peel Parish * Pee ...

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 Carnaby's black cockatoo (''Zanda latirostris''), also known as the short-billed black cockatoo, is a large Zanda (bird), black cockatoo endemic to southwest Australia. It was described in 1948 by natural history, naturalist Ivan Carnaby. Meas ...

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 The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeography, biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities ( ...

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 rel ...

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

Jarrah Forest Jarrah Forest, also known as the Southwest Australia woodlands, is an interim Australian bioregion and ecoregion located in the south west of Western Australia.

Geraldton Sandplains Geraldton Sandplains is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion of Western Australia. It has an area of . The Geraldton Sandplains is part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion, as asses ...

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, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

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

pastoral farming Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. ...

of sheep.

Mining Mining is the Resource extraction, extraction of valuable geological materials and minerals from the surface of the Earth. Mining is required to obtain most materials that cannot be grown through agriculture, agricultural processes, or feasib ...

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element; it has 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 slo ...

and

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

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

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

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

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

production, half of its

wool Wool is the textile fiber 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 some properties similar to animal w ...

production, and the majority of its

lamb and mutton Lamb and mutton, collectively sheep meat (or sheepmeat) is one of the most common meats around the world, taken from the domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries'', and generally divided into lamb, from sheep in their first year, hogget, from sheep in thei ...

oranges The orange, also called sweet orange to distinguish it from the bitter orange (''Citrus × aurantium''), is the fruit of a tree in the family Rutaceae. Botanically, this is the hybrid ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', between the pomelo (''Citrus m ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of 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 pl ...

, 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. Cultural change with population changes in many localities has been identified by local museums and historical societies, including online documentation. *Bruce Rock *Corrigin *Cunderdin *Dowerin *Goomalling *Hyden *Kellerberrin *Koorda *Kulin *Lake Grace *Meckering *Merredin *Narrembeen *Newdegate *Nungarin *Southern Cross *Westonia *Wyalkatchem *Yelbeni Also the literary tradition of writers including the wheatbelt in their writing included: * Albert Facey * Peter Cowan *

Dorothy Hewett Dorothy Coade Hewett (21 May 1923 – 25 August 2002) was an Australian playwright, poet and author. She wrote in a number of different literary styles: Modernist poetry, modernism, socialist realism, Expressionism (theatre), expressionism a ...

* Jack Davis *

Elizabeth Jolley Monica Elizabeth Jolley (4 June 1923 – 13 February 2007) was an English-born Australian writer who settled in Western Australia in the late 1950s and forged an illustrious literary career there. She was 53 when her first book was published, ...

* John Kinsella Lesser known writers also have the wheatbelt environment in their writing such as

Lilian Wooster Greaves Lilian Wooster Greaves (21 December 1869 – 28 January 1956) was a Western Australian botanist and poet. Personal life Greaves was born in Ballarat, Victoria, where her father, William H. Wooster, was lecturer of botany at the Federation Uni ...

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 those lines to ports for export from the

CBH grain receival points CBH grain receival points (also known as ''the bins'' or ''wheat bins'' in local popular usage) are grain silos spread around Western Australia, primarily in the wheatbelt region. Historically they have been linked with the wheatbelt railway ...

(grain

silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...

s), 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 highway i ...

(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 (Western Australia), Wheatbelt and the Goldfields-Esperance, Goldfie ...

(east to ),

Great Southern Highway Great Southern Highway is a highway in the southern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, starting from Great Eastern Highway at The Lakes, from Perth, and ending at Albany Highway near Cranbrook. It is the primary thoroughfare for this ...

(east to , then south to ), Brookton Highway (east-south-east to ), and

Albany Highway Albany Highway links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its oldest settlement, Albany, Western Australia, Albany, on the state's South coast of Western Australia, south coast. The highway travels through the southern Wheatbelt (Weste ...

(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 town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is located north-west of Hull city centre. At the 2021 census the built-up area of the town had a population of 30,930, and the smaller civil parish had ...

* Brookton *

Bruce Rock Bruce Rock is a town in the eastern Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately east of Perth and southwest of Merredin, Western Australia, Merredin. It is the main town in the Shire of Bruce Rock. His ...

* Chittering * Corrigin * Cuballing * Cunderdin * Dandaragan * Dalwallinu * Dowerin * Dumbleyung * Gingin * Goomalling * Kellerberrin * Kondinin * Koorda * Kulin *

Lake Grace A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

* Merredin * Moora * Mount Marshall * Mukinbudin * Narembeen *

Narrogin Narrogin is a town in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, Western Australia, Perth on the Great Southern Highway between Pingelly, Western Australia, Pingelly and Wagin, Western Australia, Wagin. In the age of st ...

* Northam * Nungarin *

Pingelly Pingelly is a town and shire located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, from Perth via the Brookton Highway and Great Southern Highway. The town is also located on the Great Southern railway line. The surrounding areas produce w ...

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

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

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 The Shire of Beverley is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia about southeast of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of , starting outside Armadale in the Darling Scarp and extending eastwards ...

Shire of Cunderdin The Shire of Cunderdin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about west of Merredin and about east of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Cun ...

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 The Shire of Koorda is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about northeast of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is the town of Koorda. History The Koorda Roa ...

Shire of Northam The Shire of Northam is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, beyond the northeastern fringe of the Perth metropolitan area centred on t ...

– WDC office in Northam *

Shire of Quairading The Shire of Quairading is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about east of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Quairading. History Quairadin ...

Shire of Tammin The Shire of Tammin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Its seat of government is the town of Tammin, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Merredin and about 180 kilometres (112 mi) eas ...

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 The Shire of Wyalkatchem is a local government area located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Its seat of government is the town of Wyalkatchem, about northeast of Perth, the state capital. History On 18 June 1920, the Wyalkatc ...

Shire of York The Shire of York is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, covering an area of just beyond the eastern fringe of Perth's metropolitan a ...

Central Coast

Shire of Chittering The Shire of Chittering is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, covering an area of about just beyond the northeastern fringe of the Perth metropolitan area, generally along and east of the Great Northern High ...

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

Shire of Gingin The Shire of Gingin is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, just beyond the northern fringe of the Perth metropolitan area. The Shire ...

Central Midlands

Shire of Dalwallinu The Shire of Dalwallinu is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about Wikt:north-northeast, NNE of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an a ...

Shire of Moora The Shire of Moora is a local government area in the northern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, and generally lies between the Brand Highway and Great Northern Highway about north of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of ...

– WDC office in Moora *

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

Shire of Wongan-Ballidu Shire () is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries. It is generally synonymous with county (such as Cheshire and Worcestershire). British counties are among the oldes ...

Central East

Shire of Bruce Rock The Shire of Bruce Rock is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about south of Merredin and about east of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of B ...

Shire of Kellerberrin The Shire of Kellerberrin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about west of Merredin and about east of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is the town of K ...

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 The Shire of Mount Marshall is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about north-northwest of Merredin and about northeast of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of , and its seat of governmen ...

Shire of Mukinbudin The Shire of Mukinbudin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about north of Merredin and about east of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of M ...

Shire of Narembeen The Shire of Narembeen is a local government area in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about east of the state capital, Perth, and between the shires of Merredin to the north, and Kondinin to the south. The Shire has a lan ...

Shire of Nungarin The Shire of Nungarin is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, and with a population of 255 as of the , is one of the nation's least pop ...

Shire of Trayning The Shire of Trayning is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about northwest of Merredin, Western Australia, Merredin and about eas ...

* 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 The Shire of Brookton is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about southeast of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government is the town of Brookton. The local economy, ...

Shire of Corrigin The Shire of Corrigin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about east of the state capital, Perth. Its seat of government is the town of Corrigin. The shire covers an area of and the economy, worth appro ...

Shire of Cuballing The Shire of Cuballing is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Cuballing is located north of the town of Narrogin and southeast of the capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of and its seat of government ...

Shire of Dumbleyung The Shire of Dumbleyung is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about east of Wagin and about southeast of Perth, the state capital. The Shire covers an area of , and is involved in grain and livestock produ ...

* Shire of Kondinin *

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 th ...

Shire of Lake Grace The Shire of Lake Grace is a local government area in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about ESE of the state capital, Perth. The Shire has a land area of and its seat of government is the town of Lake Grace. History Th ...

Shire of Narrogin The Shire of Narrogin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about south-east of the state capital, Perth. The seat of government is in the town of Narrogin. Until 2016, when the two entities merged, the Narr ...

– WDC office in

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 The Shire of Wandering is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, and, with a population of 444 as at the , is one of the nation's smallest. It covers an area of generally to the east of Albany Highway about so ...

Shire of West Arthur The Shire of West Arthur is a Local government areas of Western Australia, local government area in the Wheatbelt (Western Australia), Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, generally to the west of Albany Highway about south-east of Perth, th ...

Shire of Wickepin The Shire of Wickepin is a local government area in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, east of Narrogin and about southeast of the state capital, Perth. The Shire covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Wickepi ...

* 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 **

and Rockingham ** Wandering * Sunset Coast ** Gingin * Swan Valley ** Chittering Finally, the northwestern

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 NS) was a Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best known for his no ...

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
{{Towns Wheatbelt South WA Regions of Western Australia