Maya is a small town in the Mid West region of 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...

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The town's name is a result of the shortening of the Indigenous Australian word for a nearby spring

Spring (hydrosphere)

A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...

, Pocanmaya. The name was first recorded by surveyors in 1876.

The town originated as a railway siding on the Mullewa

Mullewa, Western Australia

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 to Wongan Hills

Wongan Hills, Western Australia

Wongan Hills is a town in the Shire of Wongan-Ballidu, in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The town is approximately 182 km north of the State capital Perth, at an altitude of 286 metres....

that was planned in 1913. The townsite was gazetted in 1913 and the railway commenced operation in 1915.