| Madura Western Australia | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Madura Roadhouse, 2017 | |
  Madura | |
 | |
| Coordinates | 31°54′4″S127°1′8″E / 31.90111°S 127.01889°E /-31.90111; 127.01889 |
| Population | 0 (SAL2021)[1] |
| Established | 1876 |
| Postcode(s) | 6443 |
| Elevation | 46 m (151 ft) |
| 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 |
Madura is a small roadhouse community located on theEyre Highway inWestern Australia, on theRoe Plains. It is 1,253 kilometres (779 mi) fromPerth. It is at the foot of the escarpment next to the Madura Pass down from theNullarbor Plain.UTC+8:45 is the local time zone in use.[2]
Madura was settled in 1876 as a place to breed quality cavalry horses for theBritish Indian Army for use in theNorthwest Frontier region ofIndia (now part ofPakistan). The horses were shipped from the coast atEucla. (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 ofMadura Station, currently asheep station, but previously used to graze cattle, horses and camels.
Like other locations in theNullarbor Plain area, the area consists of little more than aroadhouse, open 06:00 to 21:00 each day.
Two kilometres west of Madura is a scenic lookout with sweeping views of theMadura Pass across the escarpment and theRoe Plains. Naturalblowholes may also be found nearby. The area is used for pastoral purposes, mainly sheep rearing.[3]
Surrounding Madura is theMadura Shelf, 265,600 square kilometres (102,500 sq mi) of predominantlysedimentary rock, part of theBight Basin,[4] which has been found to containcrude oil andgeothermal gradients.[5][6]
Media related toMadura, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons