Western Australia is around the same size as Western Europe and almost all of it is in the Australian outback, which means most of its 2.5 million residents live in Perth.
With 3,000 hours of sunshine a year, it's been voted one of the friendliest and most liveable cities in the world. But it's also said to be the most isolated big city on the planet.
So why do so many Irish people now call it home?
Detective Senior Constable Stephen Ryan, who is from Co Clare, was a garda stationed in Dublin's Store Street and Sherriff Street before moving to Western Australia in 2009, where he now works in the Serious and Organised Crime Division of the Western Australia Police Force.
He has built his life in Perth and says Irish gardaí adapt well to working in the state.
"I guess I came out at the time really for an adventure. In terms of staying here, I think it's just conditions, I guess. Especially coming from Dublin where the cost of living is kind of untenable for a young guard really.
"I spent a few years up north in Kimberley, in an indigenous area and a lot of the indigenous people here have an affinity with Irish people, we have a lot in common culturally, been colonised and that, so I found it very welcoming".
Ciaran Cleary, from Co Laois, is a Detective Senior Constable based four-and-a-half hours north of Perth.
He says better technology, which makes police work more straightforward and better promotional opportunities, as well as the lifestyle on offer are what lure gardaí from Ireland Down Under.
"Rightly or wrongly, there's probably more opportunity over here for career progression and development. That and the lifestyle is really it, you know. I mean, it's winter over here, yesterday evening I went down to the beach with the kids, sitting on the sand dunes watching them playing around and running around. It's that quality of life I suppose," he says.
Western Australian Police travelled to Ireland earlier this year to try to recruit gardaí and so far have had more than 100 applicants.
Commissioner with Western Australian Police Kylie Whitley says she travelled to Dublin looking for Irish police because they gel so well with both their colleagues and the community.
"They are well received. They are loved by all their colleagues. They do an amazing job and their skill set is very transferable. We are offering a very competitive salary, they can work anywhere from remote indigenous communities, many stations that are situated on the coastline, so they can work along the coast or they can work in our wineries areas or our tourist regions."
But it is not just police stations where the Irish can be found. Perth's hospitals are also awash with Irish accents.
Dr Finola O'Sullivan from Kildare, has been working as a junior doctor in Perth for three years and says the working conditions are among the factors keeping her in Australia.
"The staffing levels are better. You're capped at 80 hours a fortnight. Working overtime obviously does happen, but you get paid for it straightaway. If you want annual leave the HR here really take into consideration your requests.
"Financially its a slightly better pay rate just providing more disposable income to enjoy the life out here. It's great. Mostly because of the lifestyle. The weather is obviously a big aspect of it. Myself and a lot of Irish just joined a surf lifesaving club out here which is very social," she says.
Philip Craven, from Baldoyle in Dublin, has been in Perth since 2015. About 70 of his classmates came to Perth after they graduated, but only six or seven remain eight years on.
While he misses aspects of home and would consider returning for a year in the future, with an Australian partner and a baby due later this year, he says his future is most likely here.
"I'm very lucky the opportunities that were provided here and kind of made the most of them which I'd be kind of taking a step back now if I went back to Ireland my current level.
"What really swings it is even though Perth is expensive, you're well remunerated for what you do. And you do have those opportunities of actually buying a house and you know, getting a decent mortgage and being in a position where you're not being priced out of things.
"But then again, it does lack a bit of what Ireland would have in terms of sometimes a bit of character you know, that kind of heritage and stuff you would have you would miss a lot of that".
The construction industry is also teeming with Irish immigrants. But for some it is not all plain sailing.
Damien McVeigh, from Coalisland in Co Tyrone, has moved from construction to work as a Programme Manager at an organisation called MATES in Construction to help suicide prevention within the construction industry.
He says the nature of the work can leave many of those in the industry, including expat workers, feeling isolated.
"The construction industry is a tough industry. You usually get up when it's dark and you get home when it's dark. So those are long working hours and it's usually six days a week. In Ireland you have a really healthy community around you and an open door policy with your next door neighbour.
"Unfortunately you don't see it as common here in Australia, so that sense of community you don't have that, that strength in numbers type thing, which can be quite challenging for a lot of people."
But for most immigrants, 19 degree winters, the great outdoors and career opportunities have encouraged them to build their life in Perth.
Alison Enright, from Limerick, works in the mining industry and has also developed a tanning brand during her 14 years living in Perth, where she now has a husband and a young family.
"We just fell in love with how beautiful Western Australia was, we wanted to settle and start a family and we were blessed. I got into mining very early on and was fortunate enough to kind of set the tone in terms of opportunities for us going forward and to the point where I even branched out and created my own business here - a tanning brand.
"I'm still in mining, still do tanning and I think that's the beauty of Western Australia, that you can tap into any kind of industry".
However, despite her great life here, she admits the lure of home will always be strong
"We really truly are Down Under for sure. Look it is hard. Over the years it's got a little bit easier with the likes of social media and being able to FaceTime, but yeah, it can very can be very isolating at times and we do miss a lot of events.
"That's a choice . . . because we chose to have a life here, but at the same time, you know, there's nowhere like home really at the end of the day."
