Farina, South Australia

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Farina
South Australia
Farina sign.jpg
Farina Sign
Australia South Australia location map.svg
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Farina
Coordinates 30°04′30″S138°16′34″E / 30.075131°S 138.276011°E / -30.075131; 138.276011 [1]
Population15 (includes other localities in the "State Suburb of Farina") (2021 census) [2] [lower-alpha 1]
Established21 March 1878 (town)
29 May 1997 (locality) [4] [5]
Postcode(s) 5733
Elevation303 m (994 ft)
Time zone ACST (UTC+9:30)
 • Summer (DST) ACDT (UTC+10:30)
LGA(s) Pastoral Unincorporated Area [1]
Region Far North [1]
State electorate(s) Stuart [6]
Federal division(s) Grey [7]
Mean max temp [8] Mean min temp [8] Annual rainfall [8]
27.0 °C
81 °F		12.4 °C
54 °F		164.2 mm
6.5 in
Localities around Farina:
Farina Station Farina Station Farina Station
Farina Station Farina Farina Station
Farina Station Farina Station Farina Station
FootnotesAdjoining localities [1]
Headstones facing Mecca in Farina's cemetery Farina cemetery.jpg
Headstones facing Mecca in Farina's cemetery

Farina, formerly Farina Town and originally Government Gums, is an abandoned town in the Australian state of South Australia. The name also applies to an area of about 8500 square kilometres (3300 square miles) in which the town is located. At the 2006 census, 55 people lived in the larger area; by the 2021 census, the population had fallen to 15. [9] [2]

Contents

Farina sits within the arid Lake Eyre basin, 26 kilometres (16 mi) north of Lyndhurst and 55 kilometres (34 mi) south of Marree where the Oodnadatta Track and the Birdsville Track commence. It is 540 kilometres (340 miles) due north of the state capital; Adelaide [10] in the days when the rail connection was narrow gauge to Port Augusta, the distance by rail was 657 kilometres (408 miles).

History

Ruins of the Exchange Hotel, Farina Exchange Hotel Farina.JPG
Ruins of the Exchange Hotel, Farina

In 1876, after a police trooper had been posted to the Government Gums, a "long neglected district", a deputation asked for a portion of the district to be allotted as a township so that a post office might be erected; that a telegraph station be opened; and that a weekly mail service from Beltana to the north-west be set up. The townsite, on a reserve surrounding Gums Waterhole, was surveyed and on 21 March 1878, Farina Town was proclaimed. [11]

Originally called The Gums or Government Gums, [12] Farina was settled in 1878 by optimistic farmers hoping that rain follows the plough . [13] The town became a railhead in 1882, but the railway was extended to Marree in 1884. During the wet years of the 1880s, plans were laid out for a town with 432 quarter-acre (0.10 hectares) blocks. It was believed that the area would be good for growing wheat and barley, but normal rainfall proved to be nowhere near enough for that. Several silver and copper mines were opened in the surrounding area.

Farina grew to reach a peak population of about 600 in the late 19th century. In its heyday, the town had two hotels (the Transcontinental and the Exchange), an underground bakery, a bank, two breweries, a general store, an Anglican church, five blacksmiths, a school (1879–1957) and a brothel. [11] [ citation needed ] In 1909, a 1,143-kilogram (2,520 lb) iron meteorite was discovered north-east of the town. [14]

Today, little remains of the township, except for stone ruins, a seasonally operating underground bakery, and the elevated water tank of the former railway. The post office closed in the 1960s. The 1067 mm (3 ft 6 in) narrow-gauge Central Australia Railway closed in July 1958.

The name Farina was adopted on 5 April 1979. [11]

The town has not been inhabited since 1967, [15] with the closest residents 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 of that year, 30 people attended a 14-day restoration program at Farina. [16] These efforts have included the repair of the bakery and the addition of informational signs. [17]

Cemeteries

The town's cemetery is a few kilometres away via a signposted track. Of interest is the Afghan corner of the cemetery, which contains several headstones with both English and Arabic inscriptions, plus several headstones without inscriptions, marking the resting place of former Farina residents of Afghan origin, who were involved in or connected with the camel trains which used to provide transport services before the railway was extended. In the Islamic tradition, all the gravestones face Mecca

First World War enlistments

During the First World War, 33 men who were born in Farina enlisted for the duration of the war and for four months after its end. All of them were volunteers. Of the total, five were killed in action, ten were wounded, and one died at sea en route to England. One of the youngest Farina residents to enlist was 15-year-old William James Denham Robinson, who used an alias of Charles Robison; he served in both world wars.

World War II

Farina war memorial Farina World War I and II memorial.jpg
Farina war memorial

During World War II, 35 men born in Farina enlisted. Of those, nine served in the Royal Australian Air Force. The first man enlisted on 18 October 1939 and the last man on 15 March 1945. The youngest was 18 when he enlisted and the oldest was 45. Three men were killed in action and a fourth died during his service in the army. The last Farina man was discharged in October 1948.

Climate

Farina has a hot desert climate,[ citation needed ] although a temperature station has not been in operation there since 1939. [8]

Climate data for Farina 1889–1939 normals, rainfall 1879-2018
MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecYear
Record high °C (°F)46.7
(116.1)		45.6
(114.1)		43.3
(109.9)		38.9
(102.0)		33.1
(91.6)		30.0
(86.0)		30.0
(86.0)		31.7
(89.1)		37.8
(100.0)		43.1
(109.6)		44.2
(111.6)		46.4
(115.5)		46.7
(116.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)35.5
(95.9)		35.4
(95.7)		32.0
(89.6)		26.5
(79.7)		21.6
(70.9)		17.7
(63.9)		17.3
(63.1)		19.8
(67.6)		23.7
(74.7)		27.9
(82.2)		31.9
(89.4)		34.5
(94.1)		27.0
(80.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)19.9
(67.8)		20.0
(68.0)		17.0
(62.6)		12.1
(53.8)		8.1
(46.6)		5.5
(41.9)		4.1
(39.4)		5.7
(42.3)		8.5
(47.3)		12.5
(54.5)		16.1
(61.0)		18.7
(65.7)		12.4
(54.3)
Record low °C (°F)10.6
(51.1)		10.6
(51.1)		7.8
(46.0)		2.7
(36.9)		−1.4
(29.5)		−2.8
(27.0)		−3.8
(25.2)		−2.2
(28.0)		0.6
(33.1)		2.8
(37.0)		5.6
(42.1)		7.8
(46.0)		−3.8
(25.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)18.8
(0.74)		19.7
(0.78)		15.2
(0.60)		10.7
(0.42)		14.7
(0.58)		16.0
(0.63)		9.3
(0.37)		10.7
(0.42)		10.6
(0.42)		12.9
(0.51)		12.3
(0.48)		15.1
(0.59)		165.0
(6.50)
Source: [8]

See also

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References

Notes
  1. ↑ For the 2021 census, Farina's "Geography type: Suburbs and Localities" consisted of Farina and other localities within an area extending from the shore of Lake Torrens in the south to immediately north of Marree but not including Marree. [3]
Citations
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Search results for 'Farina, LOCB' with the following datasets being selected – 'Suburbs and Localities', 'Government Towns', 'Local Government Areas', 'SA Government Regions' and 'Gazetteer'". Location SA Map Viewer. Government of South Australia. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  2. 1 2 Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Farina". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 2 December 2023. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (27 June 2017). "Farina". 2016 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 22 March 2019. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  4. ↑ Morgan, William (21 March 1878). "Untitled proclamation re the "Township of Farina Town"" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. Government of South Australia. p. 621. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  5. ↑ Kentish, P.M. (29 May 1997). "GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES ACT 1991 Notice to Assign Boundaries to Places (localities of Beltana, Cockburn, Marree, Farina and Waukaringa)" (PDF). The South Australian Government Gazette. South Australian government. p. 2691. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
  6. ↑ "District of Stuart Background Profile". ELECTORAL COMMISSION SA. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  7. ↑ "Federal electoral division of Grey, boundary gazetted 16 December 2011" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Monthly climate statistics: Summary statistics MARREE (FARINA) (nearest station)". Commonwealth of Australia , Bureau of Meteorology. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  9. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Farina (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  10. ↑ "Farina". State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  11. 1 2 3 Manning, Geoffrey H. (2012). "A compendium of the place names of South Australia". The State Library of South Australia. Retrieved 2 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Fuller, Basil (1975). The Ghan: The Story of the Alice Springs Railway. Adelaide, S.A.: Rigby. ISBN   9781742572758.
  13. ↑ http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/travel/destinations/2010/05/six-of-the-best-ghost-towns/ Brennan, Bridget (2010). "Six of the best ghost towns", Australian Geographic, Issue 97, 21 May.
  14. ↑ "The Murnpeowie Meteorite". The Register (Adelaide, SA : 1901 - 1929). 6 April 1910. p. 8. Retrieved 29 May 2023– via Trove.
  15. ↑ Corvo, Shannon; Lysaght, Gary-Jon (27 August 2019). "Ghost town restoration of Farina a labour of love for volunteers across the years". ABC North and West SA. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "The Farina time-line". farinarestoration.com. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  17. ↑ Sexton, Mike (20 June 2013). "Grey nomad volunteers are dusting off an outback ghost town". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
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