If 20th-century Australia was dominated by New South Wales and Victoria and the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne, then this century is set to be marked by the rise of the mining states – Western Australia and Queensland.

The number of resources executives among the country’s top 200 wealthiest business leaders has almost doubled in the past year, highlighting the fortunes being made in a Chinese-fuelled bonanza. The boom is centred on Western Australia, with its iron ore, gold and natural gas reserves, and on Queensland, with its coal.