Madura, Western Australia
Encyclopedia
Madura is a small roadhouse community located on the Eyre Highway
in Western Australia
, on the Nullarbor Plain
. It is 1253 kilometres (779 mi) from Perth
.
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.
area, the area consists of little more than a roadhouse
, open 6:30am to 8:30pm each day. 2 km west of Madura is a scenic lookout with sweeping views of the Madura Pass across the escarpment and the Roe Plains. Natural blowhole
s may also be found nearby. The area is used for pastoral purposes, mainly sheep rearing. Surrounding Madura is the Madura Shelf stretching 265 600 square kilometres of predominately sedimentary rock
, part of the Bight Basin which has been found to contain crude oil and geothermal gradient
s.
Eyre Highway
The Eyre Highway is a highway linking Western Australia and South Australia via the Nullarbor Plain. Signed as National Highway 1/A1, it forms part of Highway 1 and the Australian National Highway network linking Perth and Adelaide. It was named after explorer Edward John Eyre, who was the first to...
in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, on the Nullarbor Plain
Nullarbor Plain
The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about...
. It is 1253 kilometres (779 mi) from Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
History
Madura was settled in 1876 as a place to breed quality cavalry horses for the British Indian ArmyBritish Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
for use in the Northwest Frontier
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
region of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(now part of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
). The horses were shipped from the coast at Eucla
Eucla, Western Australia
Eucla is the easternmost locality in Western Australia, located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Eyre Highway, approximately west of the South Australian border...
. (Cervantes
Cervantes, Western Australia
Cervantes is a town in Western Australia. The town is located just off Indian Ocean Drive about north north west of the state capital, Perth in the Shire of Dandaragan Local Government Area. At the 2006 census, Cervantes had a population of 503. The town was named after a ship that was wrecked...
, 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.
Present day
Like other locations in the Nullarbor PlainNullarbor Plain
The Nullarbor Plain is part of the area of flat, almost treeless, arid or semi-arid country of southern Australia, located on the Great Australian Bight coast with the Great Victoria Desert to its north. It is the world's largest single piece of limestone, and occupies an area of about...
area, the area consists of little more than a roadhouse
Roadhouse (facility)
A roadhouse is a commercial establishment typically built on a major road or highway, to service passing travellers. Its meaning varies slightly by country.-USA:...
, open 6:30am to 8:30pm each day. 2 km west of Madura is a scenic lookout with sweeping views of the Madura Pass across the escarpment and the Roe Plains. Natural blowhole
Blowhole
Blowhole may refer to:*Blowhole , the hole at the top of a whale's or other cetacean's head*Blowhole , a hole at the inland end of a sea cave*Blowhole Diversion Tunnel in Victoria, Australia...
s may also be found nearby. The area is used for pastoral purposes, mainly sheep rearing. Surrounding Madura is the Madura Shelf stretching 265 600 square kilometres of predominately sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution....
, part of the Bight Basin which has been found to contain crude oil and geothermal gradient
Geothermal gradient
Geothermal gradient is the rate of increasing temperature with respect to increasing depth in the Earth's interior. Away from tectonic plate boundaries, it is 25–30°C per km of depth in most of the world. Strictly speaking, geo-thermal necessarily refers to the Earth but the concept may be applied...
s.
Further reading
- Main Roads, Western Australia (2006) Distance book: distances to towns and localities in Western Australia East Perth, W.A. Main Roads ISBN 0730976688
External links
- Shire of Dundas - Towns of the Eyre Highway
- Nullarbor Net - Madura including local information.