Madura is a small roadhouse community located on the Eyre Highway in Western Australia, on the Roe Plains. It is 1,253 kilometres (779 mi) from Perth. It is at the foot of the escarpment next to the Madura Pass down from the Nullarbor Plain. UTC+8:45 is the local time zone in use.[2]
| Madura Western Australia | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Madura Roadhouse, 2017 | |
  Madura | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 31°54′4″S 127°1′8″E / 31.90111°S 127.01889°E |
| Population | 0 (SAL 2021)[1] |
| Established | 1876 |
| Postcode(s) | 6443 |
| Area | 8,262.1 km2 (3,190.0 sq mi) |
| Location | |
| LGA(s) | Shire of Dundas |
| State electorate(s) | Eyre |
| Federal division(s) | O'Connor |
History
editMadura was settled in 1876 as a place to breed quality cavalry horses for the British Indian Army for use in the Northwest Frontier region of India (now part of Pakistan). The horses were shipped from the coast at Eucla. (Cervantes, north of Perth, was also used for breeding.) The site was chosen as it was one of the few with free flowing bore water in the area.
The surrounding area is part of Madura Station, currently a sheep station, but previously used to graze cattle, horses and camels.
Present day
edit.jpg)
Like other locations in the Nullarbor Plain area, the area consists of little more than a roadhouse, open 06:00 to 21:00 each day.
Two kilometres west of Madura is a scenic lookout with sweeping views of the Madura Pass across the escarpment and the Roe Plains. Natural blowholes may also be found nearby. The area is used for pastoral purposes, mainly sheep rearing.[3]
Surrounding Madura is the Madura Shelf, 265,600 square kilometres (102,500 sq mi) of predominantly sedimentary rock, part of the Bight Basin,[4] which has been found to contain crude oil and geothermal gradients.[5][6]
References
edit- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Madura (suburb and locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ "The Government and iPhones don't recognise it, but this stretch of desert has its own time zone - ABC News".
- ^ Sydney Morning Herald (8 February 2004). "Travel – Madura". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
- ^ Bradshaw, B.E. & Pepper, M.R. (2003). "Madura Shelf". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ "Polda Basin – Petroleum and Geothermal in South Australia" (PDF). Primary Industries and Resources SA. 2005–2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 July 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
- ^ "Bight Basin". Geoscience Australia. 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
Further reading
edit- Main Roads, Western Australia (2006) Distance book: distances to towns and localities in Western Australia East Perth, W.A. Main Roads ISBN 0-7309-7668-8
External links
edit
Media related to Madura, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons
- Shire of Dundas – Towns of the Eyre Highway
- Nullarbor Net – Madura including local information.