Farina is no ordinary bakery stop.
For most of the year, the former outback railway town sits quiet among stone ruins and dusty tracks. But for a few short weeks each winter, the underground oven is fired up, volunteers come in and one of South Australia’s most remarkable ghost towns comes back to life.
This year, after recent rainfall, the area is looking a little more green and the bakery has opened with a strong start, as travellers make their stop for fresh-baked goods and catch a glimpse of the towns history.
The Farina Restoration Group is the volunteer team leading the charge, returning each year to preserve the abandoned township, run the famous bakery and keep Farina’s history alive for visitors.
Farina Restoration Group chairperson Bill Brock said the group started in 2009, and since that time they’ve been working to restore the long abandoned town and its historic buildings.
“It’s maintaining our history.”
“A lot of South Australian history has been let go over the years.”
This year the group has a couple new projects that are new builds, including the railway ticket office.
“It’ll be on the original site, rebuilt where the original one was,” Bill said.
“There were a couple of variations of that over the years, but we’re building one of the simpler variations.”
While these new projects are taking shape, stone works are the primary and ongoing goal for the group.
“We’ve been working on the stonework (on the old police building), getting it ready for the unveiling of the memorial to Trooper Richard Spicer, who was accidentally shot in 1884,” Bill said.
“The other stone building we’ll be doing a lot of work on this year is what we call the new police station.”
“When the roofs were taken off years ago, they allowed the rain to get into the stonework and deteriorate the mortar.
“The stones are generally pretty good, but the mortar deteriorated, and consequently that’s why the walls are starting to fall down.”
Bill said the work is careful and taxing, with volunteers stabilising the walls before capping them to help keep future rain out.
“There is considerable work to do on that building yet,” Bill said.
“Once the walls are stabilised, we cap them to try to keep the rain out.”
Last year the group even re-painted and restored the NSU62 Locomotive, giving it a new home in the Goods Shed and are now completing the paintwork on the train to bring it back to life.
Volunteers also maintain the walking trails, tidy the cemetery, replace weathered crosses, update storyboards and keep the town’s history accessible for visitors making the journey.
The Farina Restoration Group began after station owners Kevin and Ann Dawes raised concerns about the deteriorating buildings. During a visit from a caravan group, members raised $850 and handed it over with a simple instruction, “Here’s some money. Do something about it.”
More than 15 years later, the work is still going. Bill said Farina’s future will always involve a mix of history, restoration and the bakery, with volunteers returning each year to keep the town standing and its stories alive.
To keep up to date on the Farina Restoration Group project, click here.
