BEING involved with making a television program on restoration has helped Holowiliena station take a new direction into tourism.
But rather than offer accommodation, which is well catered for in the Flinders Ranges, there will be day tours with Devonshire teas, wood-oven pizzas and a tour of the property.
Holowiliena station is run by Richard and Janne Warwick along with their daughter Frances Frahn and her husband Luke.
This year, the whole family has been part of a yet-to-be-screened ABC program focused on restoration.
As part of the program, areas of the property including the old shack and cellar have been brought back to life and will feature as part of the day tour around Holowiliena.
Ms Frahn said many visiting the Flinders Ranges wanted to learn more about the history of the area, preferably from local families.
Click on the image above to see more photos from Holowiliena Station.
Holowiliena's tourism venture will be launched in autumn next year when the television program is scheduled to air.
One of the tour stops will be the old store, built on the property in 1856 and still in its original format.
It was made with local stone from Holowiliena and today houses a veritable treasure trove of antiques, from old medicine bottles and bakelite phones to paintings and knick-knacks.
It also has all the station diaries from the property, still in incredible condition considering some date back to the 1860s.
Another interesting item is an old supplies catalogue, noting everything needed to set up a station, and a shearing record book.
Blade shearing was done until 1956 on the property.
While the store was mainly used to keep supplies for the station, people passing through the area also used the store. All the items sold were written down in the store book, which is still on the property.
The store was a registered post office for a short time in the 1860s.
Another historic building on the property is the blacksmith shop, which is now used by Mr Frahn to make a range of items, from gates to candlestick holders. It has been unused since the 1950s.
Artist Blacksmiths Association of SA members who travelled up to Holowiliena taught him the craft of blacksmithing.
"As part of the research we did, we found that William Warwick - the first Warwick at Holowiliena Station - when he first immigrated in 1839, listed on his immigration papers that he was a master blacksmith," Mr Frahn said.
"His wife was also from a family of blacksmiths."
Before the revamp you could see right through the building and today, it is a perfect haven for any handyman or tinkerer, with working blacksmithing bellows and plenty of old-style tools.
Blacksmithing demonstrations will be part of the Holowiliena day tour.
Another building that was completely restored is the 'scalp hut' or what the family calls 'the shack'.
The name is believed to have originated from a building storing dog scalps, on which there was a bounty back in the day. The shack was another building that had deteriorated to the point you could see through the other side.
With the help of 20 people from the construction industry, and using all materials harvested from Holowiliena, the scalp hut has been restored.
* Full report in Stock Journal, November 27, 2014 issue.