No. 19 – Hello Farina Group Supporters The 2013 Farina work programs
Overview of the 2013 program
As outlined in the last newsletter (#18) we will use smaller groups in 2013 with more specialised tasks associated with construction, hosting, reception, bakery, maintenance and stabilisation.
This year there will be three smaller Program teams of volunteers, each team active over a 2 week period, giving a total of 6 weeks, with about 25 persons per period. There would be selected supervisors who would “overlap” the periods to ensure continuity of the programs. We believe that the smaller groups would be more manageable. All volunteers would camp in the campground so that groups would not be split up.
We will amalgamate the reception and the bakery Cafe area to a site near the bakery. This would use our volunteers more efficiently as the roles do overlap significantly.
We hope to acquire significant additional equipment over the near future to enable the maintenance, construction, bakery and living area to be more efficiently run.
2013 Schedule
Our work program will span six weeks and will be divided into 3 sub-programs each of two weeks commencing SUNDAY MAY 5th and concluding SATURDAY JUNE 15th.
Program 1 Sunday to Saturday May 5 to May 18
Program 2. Sunday to Saturday May 19 to June 1
Program 3. Sunday to Saturday June 2 to June 15
Sat/Sun June 8/9 District Cricket Challenge Days
Sat/Sun May 11/12 Golf and Tennis Tournaments.
Attached is an Volunteer Advice/Questionnaire sheet about your attendance at our 2013 program. Whilst it is still five months away, EARLY INDICATION THAT YOU WILL BE WITH US in May /June helps us greatly in our planning.
Recent Developments
In order for our work to be less labour intensive we will purchase or hope to have donated a range of equipment.
• Ride on mower
• Purpose built grounds maintenance trailer
• Camp kitchen trailer
• Bakery and café marquee
• Bakery kitchen caravan
The last item will be quite expensive, but it is considered essential for professional production of bakery items. The purchase of some of this equipment has been made possible through a successful grant application and the expert skills of our trailer building team, however we still need additional funds.
We are in close liaison with Oodnadatta Progress Association. At present it is likely that we will “sublet” Syd and a team to replicate at Oodnadatta our War Memorial Precinct during this program. This invitation to work at Oodnadatta reflects great credit on our Farina activity.
2013 Program
At this stage the proposed 2013 works are listed below.
• Our extended grounds / walking trails maintenance
• Rail carriage restoration
• Goods shed loading ramp rebuild
• Pergola and street sign builds
• Essential building stabilisation program (over 6 weeks)
• Bakery and visitor information activity
From past experience, a one to two week “stint” is about our durability; with the six week program this gives scope for those who choose to do so “go Walkabout” and return later for a few more days work or just rest. We reckon the ideal number on site at any one time is 25 to 30 volunteers.
Weekends will be “lay days” except for our Bakery and Reception, where rosters will be staggered to enable a weekend program to host tourists.
This is our first trial towards the time when our “development” activity will be reduced, and our energies will be directed to maintaining the Farina we are re-discovering and stabilising it for the long-term future, and presenting it to the public in an exciting and informative way.
There will be a co-ordinated program between Pichi Richi, Steamtpwn and Farina in early March 2013 to relocate the railway equipment and position it at Farina to enable restoration and fine tuning the work programs in May-June 2013.
Acknowledgements
Our work would be impossible without support listed below both financial and in kind.
• Laurie Kalms formally of Marree Hotel fame.
• Mike and Dot Griggs, of Griggs Caravan Sales and Services in Adelaide.
• Rod Francis of Australian RV Accessories, Ferntree Gully, Melbourne and Andrew Gallop, proprietor of Hardings/Swift Caravan Services, Kilsyth, Melbourne, for the joint donation of an INSTANTANEOUS GAS HOT WATER SERVICE as a facility to our Camp Kitchen.
• Steve Walsh, a former Ballarat Grammar School colleague of Rob Olsten, for to transfer of ownership of their Camp Kitchen (which we borrowed in 2009/2010) to us at a generous concessional price. Steve has done significant work at Farina, including the manufacture of the campground “donkey” HWS
• Pichi Richi Railway at Quorn for assisting us greatly with long-term loan of Rolling Stock (a double decker sheep wagon) and technical guidance as we move into another phase of activity.
• Steamtown at Peterborough for working with us on our Railway Precinct development.
• Geoff Fulwood of Quorn who brought the original Farina Road Train back to Farina on the Cricket Day 2010, for again assisting us generously with transport equipment to enable the transfer of the Rail Rolling stock to Farina for the 2013 program.
We thank all of our donors and sponsors: it is absolutely obvious that they are essential to the Farina restoration Project.
Farina on the www.
Look at www.farinarestoration.com
Thanks to Phil Lannan and family we now have an official web site.
_________________________________________________________________________
Bob Brownlee. Farina News Correspondent.