Madura, Western Australia

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]

Not to be confused with Madurai; Madora Bay, Western Australia; or Mandurah, Western Australia.
For other uses, see Madura (disambiguation).

Madura
Western Australia
Madura Roadhouse, 2017
Madura
Coordinates31°54′4″S 127°1′8″E
Population18 (2016 census)[1]
Established1876
Postcode(s)6443
Location
  • 1,253 km (779 mi) from Perth
  • 528 km (328 mi) from Norseman
  • 183 km (114 mi) from Eucla
LGA(s)Shire of Dundas
State electorate(s)Eyre
Federal Division(s)O'Connor

History

Madura 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
Madura Pass from the lookout, with Roe Plains at left

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 predominately sedimentary rock, part of the Bight Basin,[4] which has been found to contain crude oil and geothermal gradients.[5][6]

References
  1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Madura (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
  2. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-08/this-remote-stretch-of-desert-has-its-own-custom-time-zone/10981000
  3. Sydney Morning Herald (8 February 2004). "Travel – Madura". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 17 October 2006.
  4. Bradshaw, B.E. & Pepper, M.R. (2003). "Madura Shelf". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  5. "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.
  6. "Bight Basin". Geoscience Australia. 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2009.

Further reading
  • 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

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