For one of Australia’s most famous ghost towns, Farina – deep in the South Australian Outback – can be a surprisingly ‘busy’ place.
Sitting on the edge of the desert, 55 kilometres south of Marree, Farina once had a population of around 600 with two hotels, an underground bakery, a bank, a school, two breweries, a general store, a church, five blacksmiths, a school and a brothel.
Back in 1967, however, after a devasting drought and the re-routing of the Ghan railway line, the last inhabitants moved out … and the future looked bleak.
But all was not lost. Since 2008, the Farina Restoration Group and hundreds of volunteers have been busily restoring the town to its former glory.
Volunteers working on the Gangers Cottage in Farina. PIC: Farina Restoration Group
And what a difference they have made. That famous underground bakery – and its 130-year-old Scotch oven – is operational again, and this year will be open daily until July 20. The chairman of the Farina Restoration Group, Bill Brock, tells the Grey Nomads that volunteer registrations for 2025 have been exceptional, with numbers filling up by mid-January.
The group limits numbers to about 50 for each week of the eight-week ‘volunteer season’. The restoration projects currently on the go include work on the stone and mortar of the old post office which had been degraded by salt damp.
Head Baker Kerry and Baker’s assistants with heavy fruit loaves. PIC: Farina Restoration Group
“The other major project is the repainting of NSU62, the narrow-gauge engine which we have own loan from Steam Town in Peterborough,” said Mr Brock. “Our curved roof shed has been erected over the site of the original goods shed … it will house the repainted engine and other rail items eventually.”
The volunteers completed stonework on the Gangers Cottage last year when the tops of the walls were capped with a better mortar mix to keep the rain from soaking into the walls.
“Restoration work was also carried out on the new police station, the last built,” said Mr Brock. “However, the building still requires considerable work.”
Meanwhile, the bakery … and its bread, pastries and cakes … are doing a roaring (by ghost town standards) trade.
“Visitors to Farina not only enjoy the bakery products but also exploring and absorbing the history of the old town, and we have a large number of information boards set up at sites of interest,” said Mr Brock. “The cemetery is another must visit area of the old town, along with the Rail Precinct that we are developing.”
And, by all accounts, the public campground – which is operated by station owners, Kevin and Anne Dawes – is very busy this year even though the Big Red Bash isn’t on at Birdsville.
“People are heading to Marree and William Creek to take flights over Lake Eyre and witness the filling of the lake,” said Mr Brock.
• Have you sampled a bakery item at Farina? Would you recommend it? Comment below.
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