Member for Central Wheatbelt Mia Davies joined Hyden residents past and present to celebrate the town’s 100th birthday with a series of events and displays on offer to entertain and mark the significant milestone.
Speaking at the official opening Ms Davies congratulated Hyden Progress Association and the Shire of Kondinin for their work saying it was important to take the time to celebrate important community milestones.
“It was wonderful to see how many people returned to the town to catch up with friends, family and colleagues over the weekend,” Ms Davies said.
“Days like today are for sharing memories with old friends and a great opportunity for different generations to talk about their experience living or working in Hyden.
“The work to collect and record the growth and progress of this little community for future generations is remarkable.”
Ms Davies said the pioneering spirit of early settlers had continued on through the decades.
“Hyden has always had a ‘can do’ attitude toward building projects and delivering services for their community to thrive and prosper,” she said.
“It was a delight to see acknowledgement of aboriginal connection to country, early settlers and particular groups like the Italian families who took up land in the years after World War II seeking a new life of peace and prosperity.”
Ms Davies said so much work had gone into marking the occasion, from books that captured photos and reflections of residents over the years, a fashion parade of clothes through the decades from local men, women and children, machinery, newspaper articles, sporting memorabilia, a specially commissioned beer made from local grain and a magnificent cake cut by Val Mouritz and Alf Lane, the town’s two most senior residents.
“If planning a 100th birthday party for a human being is daunting, celebrating the Centennial of a whole town is an even more challenging task,” she said.
“A sincere congratulations to all involved, it was a moving and special weekend to celebrate 100 years of this remarkable little town in the eastern Wheatbelt.”
