From a lookout near Palmer, South Australia
Farming land and wheat silos near Palmer, South Australia
Palmer is a small town about 20 minutes’ drive north of where I live. The main crop in the district is wheat which accounts for the storage silos shown in the photo above. After being stored here for a while, the grain is then transported to flour mills like the one in nearby Murray Bridge, to other mills elsewhere or to Port Adelaide for export.
Palmer is only a short distance from the River Murray town of Mannum, a centre for the river boat trade in a bygone era and now a top tourist destination. It doesn’t show up in the photo above, being slightly to the right of the frame.
The area around the lookout is quite rocky, as shown in the photo below.
From a lookout near Palmer, South Australia
Farm ruins near Palmer, South Australia
Farm ruins near Palmer, South Australia
For a good proportion of the nearly 175 year history of the state of South Australia, agriculture has been predominant. In the last few decades manufacturing and mining have taken over as our leading economic arenas.
Because of this history of settlement on the land in the early days, farms were established in many parts of the state, including many which didn’t last all that long. Travelling in the rural areas of our state reveals many formerly fine homes and farm sheds now in a poor state; most are buildings slowly becoming ruins, mere shadows of the dreams of their optimistic builders.
The buildings shown on this post can be found near the road from Palmer to Tungkillo, east of Adelaide.
Farm ruins near Palmer, South Australia
Rock formations near Palmer, South Australia