HYDE Hyde is a very small locality 30km’s from Middlemarch in central Otago. The township met the Bustout criteria, and the Hyde Hotel is a classic pub. Along with the other towns on state highway 87, Hyde is also benefiting from the Central Otago Cycle Track. Hyde is best known as the site of the Hyde railway disaster of 4 June 1943, in which 21 people were killed when an express train on the Otago Central Railway derailed at high speed in a cutting near the town. The site of the Hyde disaster can now be walked as part of the Rail Trail and a monument, a 2.5 m high stands as a memorial to the victims. (not shown) Hyde also has a War Memorial and an historic church. Hyde is a really nice spot and definitely deserves more than just a quick stop or pass through.