Western Australia is another one of Australia's uncreative state names, and its moniker shows the British weren't being consistent with their own lack of creativity.   To be consistent, Western Australia's next door neighbor should be called Southern Australia, not South Australia.  Or Western Australia should be referred to as West Australia.  There's actually a Western Australian newspaper called The West Australian.  Why the state's not called West Australia can probably be attributed to something as simple as a bureaucrat getting drunk and forgetting to leave the 'ern' off Western.  The populated parts of Western Australia contain some of Australia's gems.   Perth is a cowtown noted for its pleasant beaches, all within easy train-riding distance.  Those in the nightlife know stick to the suburbs.   One of Australia's prime wine growing areas, Margaret River, is here, in the southwest.   The hippie center of Denmark is here, too, and one of the world's most well known beaches, Cable Beach, is found in Broome, in the far northwest of the state.   There are plenty of near-deserted beaches all over the state.   In a survey conducted among over 12,000 Australians, Western Australia ranked third as favorite state, after Queensland and Victoria.  Among foreign arrivals, Western Australia's isolation doesn't cater to the skint backpacker crowd.   As most foreigners arrive via Sydney, Queensland and New South Wales remain the perennial traveler favorites.  The tourist literature boats that relatively few (foreign) tourists visiting Western Australia, and while that's true, the reduced number of attractions here and places to stop for rest & relaxation, means that all these visitors tend to congregate in a limited number of spots, making Western Australia seem, at times, very touristed.