Hyden

History

The traditional owners of the area are the Aboriginal Australian 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 cutters were thought to be the earliest European visitors in the area. The townsite was gazetted in 1932 following demand for land around the railway terminus. The first wheat crop was harvested in Hyden in 1927. 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. In August 1998, the Wave Rock airstrip opened.

Geography

Hyden has a semi-arid climate (Köppen: BSk); with hot, dry summers and mild, slightly wetter winters. On average, the town receives 133.1 clear days and 92.2 cloudy days per annum. Extreme temperatures ranged from on 3 February 2007 to on 28 July 1982. The wettest recorded day was 7 December 2011 with of rainfall.

Most-observed species

• Australian Ringneck

  Barnardius zonarius (Shaw, 1805) · Aves
  137
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  123
• Australian Raven

  Corvus coronoides Vigors & Horsfield, 1827 · Aves
  113
• Australian Magpie

  Gymnorhina tibicen (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  59
• Red Wattlebird

  Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790) · Aves
  58
• Gray Currawong

  Strepera versicolor (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  56
• Singing Honeyeater

  Gavicalis virescens (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  54
• Weebill

  Smicrornis brevirostris (Gould, 1838) · Aves
  52

Most recent

• M 2.5 — 2006-09-11
  115 km SSE of Merredin, Australia