Hyden is located east-southeast of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia in the Shire of Kondinin. It is home to Wave Rock, Mulka's Cave and Hippos Yawn, all popular local tourist attractions. The

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

of the area are the

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

group the Njakinjaki people, who have inhabited the region for thousands of years. The many granite outcrops, land formations, waterways as well as flora and fauna are still culturally significant to them.

Sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods. Sanda ...

cutters were thought to be the earliest European visitors in the area. The land in the surrounding area was opened up for

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

in the 1920s. A railway line was opened between Lake Grace and Hyden Rock in April 1933. The townsite was gazetted in 1932 following demand for land around the railway terminus. The first

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

crop was harvested in Hyden in 1927. The Hyden Progress Association was established prior to 1931 when the town was home to about 100 settlers. In 1931 the town had another large wheat crop, which was transported from the railway terminus at Lake Grace. The town was being surveyed and already had an oil depot, tea rooms and an agency with a store being constructed. A large catchment of water had also been built at Hyden Rock. In 1933 the Progress Association built a pavilion at the existing sports ground and plans were made to construct a town hall. The hall was completed prior to 1935. The town's

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

continues to rely on agriculture, mostly in the form of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

and

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

production that has a current value of approximately . The town also benefits from mining and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

. The surrounding areas produce wheat and other

cereal A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize ( Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, ...

crops. The town is a grain receival site for CBH Group. Around 100,000 tourists visit the town throughout the year while travelling to Wave Rock, which is to the east of the townsite. Other visitors arrive during the wildflower season between September and December to see the many wildflower species that bloom at the time and different birds that feed on the blossom. In August 1998, the Wave Rock airstrip opened.

Wave Rock Wildlife Park

Wave Rock Wildlife Park is located in Hyden, and is set in of natural bushland. The inhabitants include: koalas, wombats, kangaroos, wallabies, bettongs, possums, alpacas, camels, donkeys and a variety of birds such as emus, owls and swans. Native lizards freely inhabit the park and a cafe is on site for visitors.

References

External links

Shire of Kondinin
{{authority control Towns in Western Australia Grain receival points of Western Australia Shire of Kondinin