Western Australia to the rescue

In the early part of the Century, most of Australia’s wheat came from the eastern states, and widespread drought in the east was tantamount to failure of the national crop. As time passed, the proportion of Australia's wheat sourced from Western Australia grew steadily, from about 10 percent in World War I, to 15-20 percent in World War II, to about 30 percent in the 1970s. This was due to a tenfold increase in the area sown to wheat, and a gradual increase in yield from 0.71 tonnes/hectare in 1915 to 1.14 in 1982. Moreover, it often happens that drought in eastern Australia is counterbalanced by good conditions in the southwest, despite notable exceptions (such as in 1914, the early 1940s, and 1994). These factors prevented the already very serious economic losses from the El Niño-related drought of 1982 from being even worse.

The drought over the eastern States in 1982 resulted in virtually the complete failure of the eastern Australian wheat crop. National production, which had reached a near record 11.5 million tonnes in 1981, fell to just 3.3 million tonnes. In the west, despite slightly below average rainfall over the grain-growing areas in the May to October growing season, the rains fell at the right time. As a result, Western Australia’s 1982/83 wheat yield of 5.5 million tonnes was a record to that time. The value of the national crop - $1.38 billion - was less than that of the 1981/82 crop ($1.72 billion), but would have been much less without the Western Australian production.

Total wheat production in each Australian State between the 1975-76 and 1989-90 seasons. Note the contrast in the 1982/83 season between the Western Australian crop and those of the other States, devastated by the 1982 drought.

The revenue earned by the wheat crop depends, of course, on more than the total volume of the yield, being influenced by, for instance, international price fluctuations. Nevertheless, the relatively small fall in value of the national crop in 1982/83 does show clearly the important counter-balancing effect of the Western Australia contribution.

By 1982 Australia had become far less dependent on farm products for export income. They now made up only about 30% of exports by value, and were exceeded by the value of minerals and refined metals. Australia no longer rode on the sheep's back.