Some 650 kilometres north of Adelaide is the town of Farina — which is named for the Latin and Italian word for flour, and was founded in the 1870s in what was then believed to be prime wheat growing land.

The once busy town was a centre for copper and silver mining, and the railhead for the Central Australia Railway from 1882 – a vital livestock transport point for outback drovers.

Now Farina is best known for its ruined buildings – and South Australia’s most remote bakery, which fires up in an underground bunker for just two months of the year.

Kevin and Anne Dawes have been the sole residents at the Farina Station property since 1991, working their 22,700-hectare sheep and cattle station surrounded by the ruins of a bygone era.

But now the couple has put their station on the market, with dreams of travelling the world.

“It’s got such a rich history. So much has happened here and it was all just falling down, and we thought it was worth saving if we could,” former teacher Anne said.

At its height, Farina had 600 people and a bakery, grain shop, two breweries, two hotels, a general store, post office and a brothel.

But the Outback weather proved too harsh for pastoralists. Years of drought and dust storms made it untenable for farmers, and the area was abandoned by the mid-1900s.

The Farina cemetery was used for the last time in 1960, while the last train to travel through the town in 1980 marked its own kind of death rattle.

Farina Railway Station circa 1920. Photo: Frank Dunk/State Library of South Australia.

For the past 35 years, the Dawes family have grown Farina from a ghost town into a popular camping destination — particularly for two months of the year when their unique bakery is operating.

Exchange Hotel in Farina circa 1900. Photo: State Library of South Australia

“When we were first here, there was no tourism, and then we found that people were just camping anywhere and leaving their mess behind,” Dawes said.

“Kevin said, ‘why don’t we put in a bit of a camping area so we can manage where they are?’ and it’s grown from there.

“The tourists have gone from tents to campers to caravans and mobile homes. Now we get more caravans and mobile homes than anything.”

Each year from late May to late July, Farina is home to SA’s “most remote bakery”, sited in an underground bunker that was built as a meat store in the late 1800s.

Farina Bakery is led and operated by a group of dedicated volunteers and retired bakers. This year’s opening day was the Saturday just gone, with all proceeds funnelled back into the town’s restoration.

The Underground Bakery opens from May 23. Photo: Farina Restoration Group Facebook.

The Dawes family have helped to restore and run Farina Bakery, serving on the committee and supporting volunteers for the two months of operation each year.

“It was through us wanting to get something done about the town that was falling down that got the bakery going in the first place,” Dawes said.

“We’ve supported the Farina Restoration Group and helped them with the bakery all along and we have been heavily involved in it.”

Despite the family no longer being involved, Farina Restoration Group volunteers will continue to operate the bakery in coming years.

The Farina Station owners have also faced their fair share of weather setbacks, with “extra income” from tourism and Dawes’ work as a teacher in Leigh Creek, 65 kilometres south, assisting during long periods of drought.

The couple will now look to spend more time with the grandchildren and do in some travelling of their own.

“Instead of having all the travellers come through and we look after them, we want to join them,” Dawes said.

“The plants, the birds, the animals, as well as the history gave us so much here, and I’d like the new owners to be able to embrace that as well. Love the place like we have and embrace it because it’s got so much to offer.”

Farina Station goes to auction on June 17 at the Port Augusta Golf Club.