History 1940 - 1950
The outbreak of World War II brought progress in the Hyden district to a halt. A large number of men were called up, and many women and girls also joined. Inevitably, some never returned, and their names are recorded on the Roll of Honour at the Hyden Memorial Hall. Some families, with their bread winner in the forces, went elsewhere to live for the duration of the war.
On farms, fuel was rationed, and machinery and equipment were either unobtainable or of very poor quality. Labour was almost non-existent, although in later years Italian prisoners of war were made available – some of whom made firm friends with their employers and later returned to the district with their families to settle. Most organisations went into recess, with the notable exceptions of the CWA, whose members devoted their efforts to Red Cross work, and the VDC, prepared to defend the home front should the need arise.
Following the end of the war, the citizens of Hyden were keen to pick up where they left off, with an epidemic of meetings full of enthusiasm and new ideas. Low enrolment numbers at the school threatened its existence, so a P&C was formed to avert the crisis. A Doctor and Child Health Nurse made regular visits to the town from 1947 onwards. The catchment and dam on Hyden Rock was enlarged, and the water supply connected to the town. An airfield was built, and Hyden was included in the regular Perth-Norseman Air Service, which was quite well patronised until the introduction of the road bus service in 1950.
Also in 1950, the establishment of school bus runs – requiring the building of some new roads – brought an influx of students to the school, and a second teacher and classroom were needed, followed by the building of a house for a married headmaster. The CWA Rest Rooms were opened in 1950, providing a multipurpose facility for meetings, kitchen facilities, and the visiting doctor and nurses.
Booming wool prices and increased demand for wheat in this period saw an influx of new settlers, many taking up those farms which had been abandoned twenty years before. The Public Works Department made available machinery so that the backlog of clearing and dam-sinking could be completed, bringing many thousands of acres into production quickly.
In 1953, the long dreamed of Hyden Memorial Hall, named in honour of those who lost their lives in the war, was opened, followed soon after by the Catholic Church. Several years later, the Anglican Church was also built.
During the 1950s, an outpost of the Royal Flying Doctor Service was established at King Rocks. The King Rock Sports Club came into being at this time also, with tennis courts and a hall built from the proceeds of a cropping project.
In 1957, the Lake Grace-Hyden railway was closed, due to falling revenue, with road transport services provided in its place. The extremely poor condition of the roads meant that they were not really up to this level of heavy traffic, and local deputations and petitions eventually led to the Government agreeing to re-open the line on a seasonal basis in 1960, bringing super and heavy freight and back loading wheat until harvest was finished. This system remains in place today.
In 1958, during the closure of the railway, the bitumen road finally reached Hyden.