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. Originally called
The Gums or
Government Gums, Farina was settled in 1878 by optimistic farmers hoping that
rain follows the plough. 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. 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 narrow-gauge
Central Australia Railway closed in 1958. The name Farina was adopted on 5 April 1979. 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. These efforts have included the repair of the bakery and the addition of informational signs. Each winter the town also hosts a Farina vs the Rest of the World
cricket match at the Farina Cricket Ground, a tradition dating back to 1983.
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 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==