What if? A different Australia if all statehood proposals since 1838 had succeeded

 

Map created by Sasha Trubetskoy

The map above shows what Australia might have looked like if all statehood proposals had succeeded.

Since 1838 and right up to 2003, there have been proposals for different divisions (States) of the Australian continent and nearby neighbours. We are used to seeing Australia as 6 States and 8 Territories (yes, 8, see below) but Australia could have 24 states if the proposal/submissions for Australian Statehood were successful. For example, Australia could have included New Zealand (split into North and South islands), Fiji, New Hebrides, East Timor, and the states of Papua and New Guinea. For an interesting summary of these proposals go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposals_for_new_Australian_states. 

The creator of the 24 States of Australia map, Sasha Trubetskoy, has also calculated the relative size and economic importance of each proposed state in 2014. Go to https://brilliantmaps.com/24-states-of-australia/ to see this data. I suggest, the Pilbara State would be rather wealthy by this stage as a result of mineral wealth.

This would be a great spatial what if? exercise for a geography class to show that what we see now may not have been the case if things happened differently. This example also highlights the entwinement of history, geography and civics when we look at a map.  It may seem rather far-fetched to think of such a patchwork of states on the Australian continent and neighbouring countries but we only have to look at Europe to see that Statehood is not about size. I am sure the history of Australia would have been very different and the culture much more varied if Australia had become a patch quilt of States rather than a continent with huge divisions as history and geography has determined.  

** By the 8 Territories of Australia in 2024 are:

Internal territories:

Australian Capital Territory

Northern Territory

Jervis Bay Territory

External territories

Norfolk Island

Christmas Island

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

Australian Antarctic Territory

Coral Sea Islands

Ashmore and Cartier Islands

Heard Island and McDonald Islands