Hyden

Hyden is a small rural town in Western Australia, best known as the gateway to Wave Rock, a prominent natural formation. It lies in the Wheatbelt region and functions as a service center for surrounding farms, providing basic amenities for residents and travelers and acting as a focal point for regional road travel.

Wave Rock is a 15-meter-high, 110-meter-long pink granite formation that curves like a breaking wave. It rises from the landscape and is a major tourist attraction, drawing visitors for its distinctive shape and the walking tracks and viewpoints that surround the site. The Wave Rock precinct is managed to balance tourism with conservation of the natural feature and its surroundings.

The origins of Hyden trace to the early 20th century when settlement and agricultural development expanded in the region. The exact source of the town’s name is unclear, but it has persisted as the designation for the locality and its surrounding district.

Today Hyden remains a small, rural community whose economy blends agricultural activity—especially grain farming and sheep grazing—with tourism tied to Wave Rock and related natural attractions. The town exemplifies a typical Wheatbelt settlement that relies on farming while leveraging a nearby landmark to attract visitors from across Western Australia and beyond.