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Farina was flying the French flag at half mast today (July 16, 2016) after hearing of the dreadful massacre on Bastille day.

We have a close association with the people of Ploudaniel and we fly their flag today as a statement of solidarity.

The 2016 program is now under way with Laurie Gray and Helen Rayner the first bakers to get things rolling.

As you can see from the bread images the old oven is baking beautifully.

Noel, Bill and Margaret cleaned and white washed the bakery in a stellar effort over the weekend.

We have been advised by Martin MacLennan that road conditions between Lyndhurst and Farina tend to be very variable at this time of the year.

Despite this, volunteers/visitors are arriving on site, and it’s business as usual!

Roads are currently open again, but please “do your homework” before your trip North.

The new store room is almost complete and the new shed looks like a battle ground made up of four armies. The fridgies, the steelies., the sparkies and the plumbers all going for it.

There are 38 volunteers onsite.

The images below were flashed down to us in Adelaide by our own Master Baker, Martin MacLennan.

The above text and the associated images will be moved to the “Restoring Farina 2016” page when more late news is received.

We’ve just had an email from David Chantrell who had recently talked to some of our members who were manning our booth at the Caravan & Camping Show, about a pair of ancient glass plate negatives that were found under the floorboards of the old Farina General Store just prior to it’s demolition.

He says…

“Image #1 – is of a 1913 Ford tourer, registered on 1st September 1913 to Mr. F Budge of Farina. He is believed to be the bearded passenger in the slide. The detail is superb. The plate in the centre of the dashboard is from Duncan & Fraser Limited, the sole South Australian Ford distributors.

Image #2 – is a 1911 or 1912 Ford “Torpedo Roadster”. It is believed to be of a travelling salesman to the Farina area. No more detail is known other than it was found with plate #1.

 

These images are excellent for my Model ‘T’ Ford research because of their clarity. Plus, the “Torpedo Roadster” is one of the rarest body types sold here in South Australia and this photo remains the only evidence that we have that at least one actually came to South Australia!

I hope these add to your knowledge of Farina”

Well David – they certainly show that Farina was well and truly on the map as a progressive rural centre. It’s a pity that the locals didn’t keep the roads in better condition though!

On June 18th this year (2015), the RAAF No.10 Squadron is expected to be involved in a ceremonial “Flyover” at Farina. This year Peter Harris reported on the French celebration (also on June 18th), see his article here.

Information on the exact details is yet to be made available, however we expect that there will be standing room only at Farina (fortunately there’s plenty of that), and those who anticipating travelling for the event should make early arrangements.