Haden

Haden is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia.

Haden is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the 2016 census, Haden had a population of 195 people.

In August 1889 the Queensland Government provided 10 acres (4.0 ha) of land for a cemetery for Goombungee. However, the soil proved too difficult to dig a grave, so another 6.2-acre (2.5 ha) cemetery reserve was provided on 17 January 1894 (which is now within the boundaries of Haden). The first burial in the new cemetery was Edith Annie Lloyd, aged 10 months, occurring on23 July 1894. Although intended as a cemetery for Goombungee, its location resulted in it being used by residents of both Goombungee and Haden and the name Goombungee-Haden Cemetery began to be used in 1925. In 2008 the cemetery's private trustees handed over the responsibility for the cemetery to the Toowoomba Regional Council.The district was originally known as Wahoon, from an Aboriginal word meaning scrub turkey. When the railway station was established as the terminus of the Haden railway line, it was named Haden railway station on 8 June 1912, after Alice Elizabeth Ruth Paget (née Haden), the second wife of Walter Trueman Paget who was Secretary for Railways from 1908 to 1915. The town takes its name from the railway station.Wahoon State School opened on 20 May 1912. In February 1913 it was renamed Haden State School.St John the Evangelist Anglican Church was dedicated in 1924 by The Venerable Edward Castell Osborn. Its closure circa 2013 was approved by Archbishop Phillip Aspinall.On Sunday 19 April 1931 Bishop James Byrne blessed and officially opened St Leo's Catholic Church.Haden had been a thriving town with numerous pubs and stores at the turn of the 20th century. With the arrival of rail and Haden State School which was opened in 1912 the town prospered.It became an established place to live, as the surrounding land was ideal for cattle and dairy farming. With the rapid increase in technology and the decline of the dairy industry in Queensland due to deregulation, the population began to decline. Only a handful of farms continue to operate in the area, with the majority of farmers turning to cattle and crop production.St Leo's Catholic Church was destroyed by fire on 7 June 2020. The fire was deliberately lit.