As you explore Hyden - stop off and see the sculptures made from old machinery, implements and scrap metal that tell the history of Hyden, from early times prior to settlement, through to the first tourists in the 1970s.
This project was initiated by local business owners, the Hyden Progress Association and funded by Wave Rock Tourist Development and Government grants. 12 locals volunteered for this project and started searching rubbish dumps for suitable bits and pieces of old farm machinery, implements and scrap metal. Some of these volunteers had never welded prior to this project, but soon became adept, thanks to the lessons they received from local farmers. Over four weekend workshops, the six initial sculptures were completed. A local farmer and sculpture extraordinaire continued with the theme and made most of the remaining pieces laden with aspects of his wonderful humour.
Other generous locals supplied limestone blocks for the plinth and the gravel fill. The Shire of Kondinin supplied the concrete path at the south end of the sculptures. Original mud bricks taken from a dilapidated local homestead were transported to the site and used to create a small mud-brick hut. This replicates the type of houses that pioneers built in the 1920s and 1930s. The bricks had been made originally for a house on a property east of Hyden that had been built in the 1930s by Tom Payne.
In later years – Coinus Collectus Echidna was installed. Funds collected were (and continue to be) gratefully received by the Hyden Progress Association for ongoing community projects.