Formerly "Farina Town", formerly, formally "The Gums" or "Government Gums", Farina is a town and locality in the Australian state of South Australia. At the 2006 census, Farina had a population of 55 humans and 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 FLIES, and counting - Lots of flies. On the edge of the desert, Farina, famous for its still operating underground bakery, sits within the Lake Eyre Basin and it is situated on the old alignment of the Ghan railway, 26 kilometers (16 miles) north of Lyndhurst and 55 kilometers (34 miles) south of Marree where the Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track commence. Farina fell into disrepair over the years but is now being carefully and meticulously restored to its former grandeur with thanks to an army of volunteers who donate their time and talents to the restoration. For $5 per person per night, the Farina Camping Grounds offers rustic (dogs allowed) camping with some creature comforts like flushing toilets, toilet paper that evaded Covid19, and showers to boot, and is quite possibly the source for all flies on the planet ;).
HISTORY: Farina was settled in 1878 by optimistic farmers hoping that rain follows the plow. The town was the railhead for a time until 1884 before the railway was extended to Marree. During the wet years of the 1880s, plans were laid out for a town with 432 ¼-acre blocks. It was believed that it would be good for growing wheat and barley, however normal rainfall is nowhere near enough to grow these crops. Several silver and copper mines were dug in the surrounding area.
Farina grew to reach a peak population of approximately 600 in the late 1800s. In its heyday, the town had two hotels (the Transcontinental and the Exchange) and an underground bakery, a bank, two breweries, a general store, an Anglican church, five blacksmiths, a school and a brothel. In 1909, a 1,143 kilograms (2,520 lb) iron meteorite was discovered north-east of the town.
Today nothing but stone ruins and the elevated railway water tank remain of the township. The post office closed in the 1960s and the railway line closed in the 1980s. The town is no longer inhabited,[when?] with the closest residents now living at Farina station, visible to the west of the town. A bush camping area is maintained by the owners of Farina station. In 2008 Farina Restoration Group was formed, and in May 2009, 30 people attended a 14-day restoration program at Farina. Volunteer efforts have been made to restore the town, including the repair of the bakery and the addition of informational signs.
Filmed in May 2020, (winter in Australia), of Farina and its surroundings and then back to Adelaide through the picturesque Clare Valley and its quaint historical townships.
Cameras Used: Canon Rebel T6 (Sigma DG 70-300 lense), Sony HDR AS100V Roof Mount Action Camera (great camera!)
No post-production of images performed. Video uploaded is low quality.
All images are copywritten, please ask for permission to use, permission granted in most cases. :)
