Flinders Ranges Wall Art
Somebody built here, and then left. That is the recurring subject in this collection as much as the ranges themselves: woolsheds, cottages and station buildings still standing in country that turned out to be harder than the people who settled it expected.
Ranges, and what people tried to do with them
The Flinders is one of the oldest exposed landscapes on earth and it is also pastoral country with a short, difficult European history. The images below carry both, and the two halves of the collection reward being looked at together rather than separately.
The ranges
Brachina Gorge, Flinders Ranges, SA cuts through the sedimentary layers that make the region geologically famous. Sunburnt Country, Bunyeroo Valley, SA and Flinders Twilight, SA work the ranges at distance, and Daybreak Sentinel, Flinders Ranges, SA and Still Standing, Flinders Ranges, SA use a single tree against the escarpment. Golden Light, Flinders Ranges, SA and Winds of Time, Flinders Ranges, SA cover the same country under different light.
What was left behind
Arkaba Woolshed, Flinders Ranges, SA and Bejewelled, Wilpena Station, SA are working pastoral buildings. Further south at Burra the collection turns to ruins. Burra Homestead, SA, Forgotten Dreams, Burra, SA, Reggie's Hut, Burra, SA and Midnight Oil Cottage, Burra, SA document a copper mining town that emptied out. Peake Ruins, Oodnadatta, SA and The 907 Engine Peterborough, SA extend the same thread further north.
Arkaroola and the salt
Echo Camp Waterhole, Arkaroola, SA comes from the ranges' northern end. Beyond that the country flattens into Kati Thanda Lake Eyre, and Kati Thanda Mosaic and Kati Thanda change register completely, becoming aerial pattern rather than terrain.
Hanging these
This is the warmest group in the catalogue. Red earth, corrugated iron and dry grass, mostly photographed at the ends of the day. They sit well in a study or a hallway with timber, and they are among the few landscape images that do not look out of place in a room with no natural view.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the ruins and stone buildings in these photographs?
They are what is left of pastoral South Australia. Burra Homestead, SA and Bejewelled, Wilpena Station, SA are working buildings of the sheep country, and the ruins further out mark stations that were pushed past the line where the rainfall stops. The stone is local, which is why the buildings sit in the colour of the ranges rather than against it. Conditions change out there, so treat each photograph as a record of the building as it stood when it was made.
What is the difference between this and the wider South Australia collection?
This collection is the ranges and the outback pastoral country. The state collection also includes the Eyre Peninsula coast, the Lake Eyre aerials and the Coorong, which look nothing like the Flinders.
Which print shows the geology the Flinders is known for?
Brachina Gorge, Flinders Ranges, SA. The gorge cuts through the sedimentary sequence, so the banding in the rock walls is the subject of the photograph rather than the backdrop.
Do the ruins images work as a set?
They hang well as a group of two or three. Burra Homestead, SA, Reggie's Hut, Burra, SA and Forgotten Dreams, Burra, SA come from the same town and share a palette, so they read as a series rather than as three separate pictures.