Espérance

Esperance is the capital and largest city of the New Duveland province of Lapérouse. It is the third-most populous city in New Duveland, with an estimated population of 2.15 million living in Greater Esperance. Esperance is part of the Central West Coast Land Division of Lapérouse, with the majority of the metropolitan area of Esperance located on the Hukanui Coastal Plain, a narrow strip between the Tasman Sea and the Anselme Ranges, a low coastal escarpment. The first areas settled were on the Hukanui River, with the city's central business district and port both located on its shores. Esperance is formally divided into a number of local government areas, which themselves consist of a large number of suburbs, extending from Takou in the north to Poumoue in the south, and east inland to Doussarelle. The coastal area is dominated by the Désiré Peninsula, which juts out from a usually straight coastline into the Tasman Sea, creating a sheltered bay to the north, where the Hukanui River flows into.

Esperance was originally founded by Captain Côme Anselme in 1823 as the administrative centre of French New Duveland. It gained city status in 1850, and was promoted to the status of a Lord Theirn in 1920. The city is named after the French ship Espérance, which was the first the make landfall in the region shortly before settlement began. The city's population increased substantially as a result of the Lapérousian gold rushes in the late 19th century, largely as a result of emigration from France, although there were significant numbers of immigrants from the other colonies of New Duveland. During New Duveland's involvement in World War II, Esperance served as a base for submarines operating in the Pacific Theatre, and a US Navy Catalina flying boat fleet was based at Cyrille Bay. An influx of immigrants after the war, predominantly from France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Italy, led to rapid population growth. This was followed by a surge in economic activity flowing from several mining booms in the late 20th and early 21st centuries that saw Esperance become the regional headquarters for a number of large mining operations located around the province.

As part of Esperance's role as the capital of Lapérouse, the province's Parliament and Supreme Court are located within the city, as is Government House, the residence of the Governor of Lapérouse. Esperance came 7th in the Economist Intelligence Unit's August 2015 list of the world's most liveable cities, and was classified by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network in 2010 as a world city.

Utilities
Electricity

Water supply

Sister cities

 * 🇦🇺 Brisbane, Australia
 * 🇿🇦 Durban, South Africa
 * Eerikki, Illium