Western Australia border

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Western Australia's eastern border is longitude 129°  east. Following the settlement of the Swan River Colony in 1829, the colony of Western Australia was commissioned in March 1831.[1] The eastern boundary was declared to be 129° , that is coinciding with the western boundary of New South Wales at the time.[2]

In 1788, Governor Phillip claimed the continent of Australia only as far west as the 135th meridian in accordance with his commission.[3] In 1825, the western boundary of New South Wales was relocated at 129°  to take in the new settlement at Melville Island.[4]

It has been suggested that the 1788 claim by the British of 135°  east was in reference to Spain's claims under the Treaty of Tordesillas. Spain was seen as no longer having an interest in the area. On the other hand, the other signatories to the treaty, the Portuguese still had a presence in Macau and East Timor. Adoption of 135°  east as a boundary would minimise provocation of the Portuguese. By 1825, however, Britain was powerful enough and found it convenient to adopt the original line of the Portuguese under the treaty, 129°  east.[5]

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[edit] References

  1. ^ Commission appointing Stirling Governor and Commander-in-Chief 4 March 1831 (UK). Documenting a Democracy. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
  2. ^ Transcript of Commission appointing Stirling Governor and Commander-in-Chief 4 March 1831 (UK) (pdf). Documenting a Democracy. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
  3. ^ Governor Phillip's Instructions 25 April 1787 (UK). Documenting a Democracy. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.
  4. ^ Taylor, Peter (1990). "Chapter 10: Government and the States", The Atlas of Australian History. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Child & Associates Publishing Pty Ltd, pages 118-9. ISBN 0-86777-429-0. 
  5. ^ Brown, A. J. (2003). Chapter two: Union or unity? Anglo-Australian teritorial theory to the 1840s (pdf). The Frozen Continent: The fall and rise of territory in Australian constitutional thought 1815- 2003 (PhD Thesis). Griffith University. Retrieved on 2006-05-28.