Hammond

This is Hammond in the mid-north and it wasn't always this quiet. At the turn of the century there was a district council here with 600 people on it's books. Now things have gone a bit quiet - the population is two - Helen and Peter Revel. "I enjoy Hammond for it's quietness" Peter says with honesty. The nearest metropolis is Wilmington about 20 minutes away. That's on the edge of the spectacular Mount Remarkable National Park and about 20 minutes north of Hammond is the Southern Flinders Ranges. But the most important geographic note about Hammond is that it is on the wrong side of Goyder's line ... a surveyor's line that separates good cropping land from heartache. However when settlers were pushing north last century many were optimistic and initially they had plenty of rain. In 1898 200-thousand bags of grain were loaded from a railway siding at Hammond - a record that still stand in this state! There were five wheat buyers living in Hammond, trains ran twice daily to Adelaide, and if you came here on a Saturday morning in 1900 you could forget about finding a park in the main street. But the good times didn't last and over the decades farmers were forced to leave their dustbowls and with them went everyone including the Bank of Adelaide.

It was their old building that Peter bought and he moved into the Manager's residence behind. Later he bought the old general store and turned it into a museum. Before long he owned half the town and was the only one living there. Peter and Helen have turned the residence into a stylish Bed and Breakfast. The bank building has been converted into a restaurant called "Molly Brown's Kitchen" named after the last Bank Manager's wife. The old vault is perfect as a walk in cellar. The house specialities are Kangaroo Tail Soup and Quandong Pavlova. "When I opened the restaurant it was so relaxed that a record late breakfast was 12:45pm." Molly Brown's Kitchen is open every day except Wednesdays. The bed and breakfast has two double rooms with en-suites plus a family room. It's $80 per night. The Hammond Museum is open every day except Wednesday. For details on all three, contact Peter or Helen on (08) 8659 0051 or email info@postcards-sa.com.au