founded in 1913 as the country party of western australia to represent the interests of farmers and pastoralists, it was the first agrarian party in australia to contest and win seats at the 1914 state election. since then, it has continuously held seats in the state's legislative assembly and legislative council, particularly in the state's wheatbelt region, and for many years it also held federal seats. while the party had historically functioned as part of a two-party coalition with the centre-right liberal party (and its predecessors) for most of its existence, tensions have existed over the coalition arrangement, and on two occasions the party split over the issue.