No. 35 - Weeks 1 and 2)


For the early weeks of May the first fortnight’s group of over 30 enthusiastic seniors enjoyed the physical and social activities associated with restoring the history, stabilizing the buildings and maintaining the town of Farina for us and other travellers to enjoy.  We had the most wonderful team and it was great meeting up again with old friends and getting to know the many new volunteers interested in the Farina project.

This year we had a magnificent, new, custom designed mobile bakery caravan - 30’ of state-of-the-art calorie making machine.  Fear not, we haven’t compromised the authenticity of baking in the 103 year old underground bakery and scotch oven, but to satisfy health regulations and enable the bakers to meet the unbelievable demand, we needed a more efficient preparation setup and facility for baking smaller delicacies.  We had a timely visit from a South Australian Health Officer the first week and got a big tick of approval. 
Our bakers are volunteers who have retired from baking but love to come up and have ‘a play’.  Each baker comes for a week and bakes his own special preferences as well as the usual bread, buns, sausage rolls, pies and pasties.  Thus we are treated to croissants, custard tarts, hedgehog slice, bacon and egg pies, iced finger buns, muffins, scones etc.  Where else would you get a 15” fat pastie for $12?  The café and information desk was very busy in the two and a half weeks we were there.
  
Of equal importance was the wonderful effort put in by our construction team and maintenance people.  During this time, the construction crew renovated the toilet block in the campground with the station owner, Kevin Dawes.  More notice boards were erected near the walking trail and a large pergola and double notice board installed near the bakery.  The group is very fortunate to have the skills of volunteers who are welders, builders, electricians and plumbers just to mention a few trades.  The efforts of everyone who comes are put to good and varied uses and are very much valued.  The walking trail was cleared and 5 new sleeper seats and 2 picnic tables were installed along its path.  It is a very beautiful and easy walk.  The regular maintenance clearing around the police station and Transcontinental Hotel was also undertaken and much painting of notice boards was done. 
The site was prepared in the rail precinct, for the positioning of a cattle truck which arrived on the first Monday of the second fortnight.  Also, an updated inventory and stocktake of the group’s equipment and supplies was undertaken. 

During the first week we enjoyed the company and labours of 4 work experience students from the Leigh Creek Area School, who were brought up daily by their technical studies teacher, Colin.  The boys were involved in all areas of activity on the site and were a pleasure to have with us. 
We were also visited by Ben Boothby, the Project Officer for Flinders Ranges and Outback South Australia Tourism Commission.  Ben stayed overnight and left the following day having been actively involved in the erection of the bakery information pergola.  He spoke to our group at happy hour. He was very enthusiastic and positive and keen to widely promote the Farina project. 
Our stonemasons arrived week 2, so volunteers set about pointing for them.  Ron comes up daily from his home in Copley and Peter comes and stays in the shearers’ quarters.  Some of our volunteers love the stonework aspect of the project and try to time their stay for when the stonemasons are here.

Each Wednesday evening a camp roast was put on for the volunteers and the station owners, Kevin and Anne, join us.  They very kindly donated shoulders of lamb for our roast in the second week.  Apart from enjoying the eating, the smell of the cooking all afternoon wafting through the camp was wonderful.  
All volunteers were rostered around the different domestic, camp maintenance and bakery café and information desk duties.  It is a pleasure to have such positive and enthusiastic people.  There were lots of laughs and joking around, sharing of stories and experiences.  Everyone had plenty of spare time to do their own sightseeing of the area and visit the metropolises of Leigh Creek and Marree.

Volunteers were able to view Kevin cattle mustering on one day and to join with him on a 4WD station tour the next.  
A definite highlight of the stay was the emergence of some musicians among us. Newcomers, Noel and Virginia Robinson played the ukelele and lagerphone and accompanied Peter Cram playing his guitar.  We all sang along to old favourites during the daily 5pm happy hour around the fire.  Peter has been coming for some years and we didn’t know he was a closet entertainer.  He wrote the terrific song that is printed with this newsletter and which captures wonderfully what we are all about.


Bron and Barry Jacquier 

No. 36 - (Report from Martin Maclennan, our Baker in Chief)

Ian Riches and Martin MacLennan have just returned from the North, and once again the spirit of Farina has woven its magic.
 
Martin would like to thank all those fellow volunteers that worked together to spread the load and create the wonderful memories.
 
This year (2014) has seen a large increase in turnover / profit that has proven the restoration program self-sustaining as we maximise the potential of the new food van and marquee.
 
It is important that the history of the real bakery remains the focal point of the visit, and Margaret Blackman worked tirelessly and with good humour to ensure that the history was passed on. The entries in the visitor book which have been copied and provided to the Secretary pay testament to the job that Margaret did.
 
Martin would like all the bakers out there to consider what, if any part they would like to play next year and advise accordingly so that he can begin work on the roster for 2015.

To avoid having to rise early every morning in 2015 we will implement a rotating roster where one baker starts with support at 5.00am and the other takes over at 10.00am and vice versa the following day. Where any baker wants to work for two weeks we will ensure there is a two day break over the middle weekend.            
 
We now also have a Facebook page! Farina Restoration Group Inc

Cricket Match
The now annual cricket match and social weekend celebrates the many years of cricket played at Farina against teams from Beltana, Copley and Marree, usually followed by a dance.
(See newspaper article at the bottom of Citizen stories)
Cricket matches at Farina have been noted by Rob Olston, in his book Farina – From Gibbers to Ghost Town, as early as 1887.
One of Farina’s visitors this year was Ian Bidstrup who was moved to write the following poem.

No. 37 - (Week 3 and 4) reported July 22, 2014

Thanks firstly to Bron and Barrie for holding the fort when the arrival of Michael and Bob was delayed, and also for the systems they had put in place to ensure the camp and bakery operations ran smoothly, and make it easy for us to step into their shoes.
This was also helped by good humoured cooperation between a good mix of old friends and new recruits throughout our two weeks.
The bakery continued to do great business, although operations were disrupted for a few days by the failure of the gas oven in the new caravan. While this somewhat limited the range of products, the bakers were able to satisfy customer demands using only the 19th century technology of the wood oven.
A new unit was eventually trucked to Leigh Creek, picked up by two of our volunteers, and manhandled at near midnight into the caravan in time for preparation of the gourmet pies served on the cricket day.
In addition to cleaning and "woodman" duties and provision of morning teas, camp activities included very popular camp oven roasts on the two Wednesday nights. Happy hours were also popular, and while we were unable to unearth any musical talent, we were treated to a nightly joke from "Captain Kangaroo".
We suspect that the groans following some of his punch lines could have been clearly heard by Kevin and Anne at the homestead!

With a kick start from Sid Hulland before his departure, a dedicated crew of skilled people made great progress on renovation of the cattle truck which had been delivered during week 2. This included removal of rust and old paint, removal of the old roof, manufacture and installation of a new roof, repairs to a damaged door, and a good start on repainting of the unit.

Peter and Ron continued work on stabilising the third Police Station, supported by a number of volunteers who tried their hand at pointing. With help from Kevin and his front-end loader the stone fence shown in an old photo of the station was salvaged and rebuilt, and the stone building at the back was partly excavated to floor level.
A number of artefacts were found, including bottles and cattle tags. Finishing touches were put on the new information boards at the bakery and at the first Police Station on the Northern side of the creek. Repairs were carried out on the sheep ramp, and re-flooring which had commenced last year on the sheep truck was almost completed, limited by the supply of suitable timber.
Sump oiling of the narrow gauge loading platform was also finished.
The old skip which was originally used to feed coal to the pumps at the railway reservoirs a few kilometres up the line, and which had been restored by one of our volunteers in Adelaide, was delivered and installed in the railway precinct.
Efforts put into mowing, "de-stoning", and filling in of rabbit holes at the cricket ground seemed as though they may have been wasted when heavy rain fell during the afternoon and night prior to the match.
The next day dawned bright and sunny however, and the ground and surrounds dried out sufficiently to allow play to commence close to the scheduled time. While Farina ran out victors in a hard fought match, their celebrations were delayed by a fine rear guard action from the opposition's last pair.
Finally, thanks to Kevin and Anne for their hospitality, and their unstinting support for all our activities throughout the fortnight.

Marie Harding, Michael Pinyon, Bob Moffatt

Team Leaders report for weeks 5 & 6 at Farina

Leaders Shirley Murray, Bob Murray and Bob Brownlee.

The leaders took on the roles of Site Supervisor (BM), Café, Bakery and camp duties (SM) and project management (BB).
Of course there was overlap in these roles and the cooperation of the three leaders enabled the smooth running of the programs.

Volunteers

We had 48 volunteers for week 5 and 28 for week 6. We had an extremely harmonious and hardworking team. All members volunteered when needed for the roistered duties at the café, cleaning and cooking duties including the camp roasts. The volunteers had the skills needed for building, metal and woodwork, and painting (Michelangelo) as required. We had a great team of bakers who did a magnificent job. The groups that organized and prepared the two camp roasts were particularly appreciated.

Programs

• Cemetery maintenance and weeding the graves
• Police station: building up the corner stonework, building a dry stone wall, cleaning up and delineating the site with posts and wire boundary markers
• Cleaning out and pointing the garage, stables and cells near the Police Station
• Cattle wagon painting
• Finished making and positioning the flooring in the sheep wagon.
• Placing the ramps in the wagon
• Strengthening the walkway on the sheep ramp
• Cleaning up fallen rubble in the Transcontinental Hotel
• Paving the entrance of the Marquee
• Cleaning up the shearing shed, moving equipment to the shed and a stock take.
• Providing maintenance and service to all of the equipment and generators.

We believe that the projects undertaken or completed in weeks 5 and 6 greatly enhance the attractiveness of Farina as a tourist destination and were a testament to the history of the town. The Cemetery looks fantastic. The cattle wagon stands out on the landscape. The works undertaken on the Police Station have enhanced the building greatly.

We have discovered and uncovered new buildings next to the police station. The cleaning up around the Transcontinental Hotel greatly enhances the appearance of that building. The new storyboards in the town and near the Farina Creek enable extra involvement of the visitors. The bakery has added a whole new dimension to Farina.
The bakery, café and information area was an outstanding success through the moneys raised, the enthusiasm of the bakery assistants, the serving personel and the operation of the information table. This would have not been possible without the professional bakers and the great new bakery van.
Of particular note was the volunteer imprisoned in the dungeon who did a fantastic job of entertaining the tourists with her stories and anecdotes. Well done!!!!!!
The bakery program would not have been possible without the support of the team leader (SM) and the rostered groups who did a fantastic job.

Celebrations

We continued the theme started last year of having final drinks and toasts at the Transcontinental Hotel as the sun set on the last Friday of the program. We all then moved to the marquee where the bakers prepared pizzas and the celebrations continued. Much fun was had by all.

Acknowledgements

The leaders of these weeks would like to acknowledge the fantastic work of this group of fantastic volunteers and the continued enthusiastic support of Kevin and Anne Dawes.

Volunteer activity weeks 7 AND 8; from July 5 to 19, 2014

Introduction

As a first, and as a trial, a two week extra period of activity at Farina was programmed to coincide with school holiday times for several states. After the 6-week work period and a 3-week gap, a group of volunteers, fewer in number than usual, established camp with the express purpose of supporting bakers, selling from the café and providing information services. This was pre-planned and managed by David and Liz Linn, with Martin MacLennan as the master baker for the whole period. Tom Harding returned to manage the close down of the site for 2014.


Activities

The main focus of the volunteers was to maintain a camp for two weeks that would enable the bakery to function smoothly, support bakery and souvenir sales, and provide information services. It was intended to undertake maintenance that was observed that could be handled as labour availability allowed.

Results

If the results are based on numbers of tourists during the period then the trial can be deemed a great success.

There were lots of travellers over the period, and especially during Week 7. The camping ground reflected the numbers travelling with over 40 rigs in camp one night, many with children.

On Saturday 05 July, while preparations were being made to open next day, many people arrived ready to buy; the result was a queue at the door at 8.00am the next morning. This represented the start of several days of almost frantic activity in the café, highlighted by a “Sold Out” sign being put up at 1 pm one day, and being sold out about the same time on another. Stock was all sold on many days, with almost nothing left on the others.

One special deal was with the backpackers working at the Marree Hotel who bought 3 large orders, two of which were delivered on visits to Maree by off-duty volunteers.

Margaret expressed the view that the old bakery must remain the focus for visitors (Weeks 7 and 8 would not have happened if the bakery did not exist) and so continued her role as “guide to Farina and its historic oven”. With the large number of visitors arriving, she was often kept continuously busy for up to 6 hours a day. A great job Margaret.

The range of products varied from day-to-day including changing colour of icing on the finger buns. One delight for the team was to have fresh (fabulous) croissants hand-delivered by a Frenchman in time for breakfast – who says we go without when camping?

Maintenance

While Bill and Jan were enjoying the walking tracks (and they walked everywhere), they observed holes, depressions and other potential tripping hazards. During Week 8, ALL the walking tracks were inspected and repaired to a “deemed safe” condition.

Bill and Jan also noted the presence of the plant known as “Deadly night shade” – a plant which is so dangerous that it can be fatal to humans and some stock. Bill recommended that it be removed from the walking track area and with help from Theo began the process of pulling out the plants (Bill says the weed should not be poisoned). Bill would propose that more pulling needs to be done ASAP – it can be done outside of work periods.

Bill is a horticulturalist, and considers the walking track area of significance to the area. He has undertaken to write a report on the area for FRG to consider.

Work parties collected wood for the bakery and, with Kevin, collected sleepers.

Martin secured an interview on ABC SA/western NSW Radio 639 talking on the phone from his favourite high spot. It was a very good session and effective as some customers referred to hearing it.

We thank Kevin and Anne for their welcome and great support

David and Liz Linn

Note:
See more related images by Bob Brownlee Here in the Final Weeks page.
Also - we now have a Facebook page! Catch up via THIS link.

Martin MacLennan (Head baker) reports...
The Farina bakery van has just been delivered to The Prairie Hotel at Parachilna after completing a catering job.
This means the van is not available for any events before the next volunteer program in 2015 at this stage scheduled from 25th May to 18th July.

 A small band of volunteers catered for 130 folk on the South Dubbo Rotary Club's 2014 Outback Odyssey providing dinner on Monday 11th and breakfast on Tuesday 12th August.
This was great fun and the van made the job very easy. (the van interior (food prep area) is shown below after the final clean-up before departing for Parachilna).

Kevin, Martin and Janine were asked to speak to the visitors with Janine having to explain the rather private anatomy of Marree Man.

(The visiting vehicle below is one that Martin would have liked to exchange for his own 4WD - Ed.)

To maintain the high standards established over many, many years by Margaret, Martin entertained the group in the bakery (although he had no book for them to right nice things about him).
 
We must publicly acknowledge the donation of $1,000 from the South Dubbo Rotary Club to the Farina Restoration Group Inc. This was presented along with a nice steel plaque which we will need to house during the next program.
 
I would like to thank my wife Jo, Janine, Kevin and Anne for helping make the job so easy.

Martin