THE WESTERN SAVANNA AND SCRUB-LAND REGION has made considerable progress in recent years, mainly as a result of the exploitation of its mineral wealth. This occurs in two auriferous belts, one of which starts from Phillips River on the south coast, and runs, with a breadth of over 100 miles, in a north and north westerly direction, almost to the mouth of the Ashburton ; while the other, the breadth of which is still unknown, lies about 100 miles further west, and runs in a similar direction to the first from the Dundas Hills in the south to Pilbara on the north-west coast. Of these two belts the richer and more productive is the second, which contains the East Coolgardie, Mount Margaret, and East Murchison goldfields. From the district round Kalgoorlie, on the first of these fields, is obtained more than half of the annual output of gold in the state, and from it has come more than half the total amount produced in Westralia. The annual output, which for the years 1901-6 averaged over 0,000,000, has lately fallen below £6,000,000, and, unless further discoveries are reported, it would appear that the best days of Westralian gold mining are past. Copper is found along with gold, more especially on
the Phillips River, Mount Margaret, and West Pilbara fields, while tin occurs in the Marble Bar district of Pilbara.
The arid climate renders the land unsuitable for cultivation, but there has recently been a considerable extension of the pastoral area. This is in part due to the discovery that, underlying the sands and silts which have accumulated over the Archaean rocks, a sufficient supply of water may be obtained for stock and domestic purposes. Over one-half of the sheep in the state are now grazed in this region, the more favourable districts of which, on the west and north-west coasts, have a stock equivalent of one sheep to two acres. The limestone region of the Plains contains large areas of pasture land suitable for sheep, but it is practically uninhabited with the exception of a narrow strip along the coast where water can easily be obtained.