Across large parts of inland Australia, recent weeks have brought extraordinary weather. After record heat and dust storms early in the year, widespread rain has begun transforming landscapes that had been parched for years. In many regions the change has been dramatic – dams filling, grass returning almost overnight, and communities adjusting once again to the unpredictable rhythm of our beloved country; the “sunburnt country” of “ragged mountain ranges” and “droughts and flooding rains” captured so vividly in Dorothea Mackellar’s poem.
In South Australia’s Flinders Ranges, that change is being felt across the Parkin–Sturt Remote Area.
Country that had been dry for years is shifting quickly. Creeks are running again. Dams are filling. Hills that were brown only weeks ago are turning green.
At Wonoka Station near Hawker, Andrew and Robyn McInnis recorded 60 millimetres of rain in one fall. A week later another 106 millimetres arrived.
“The Wonoka Creek was one of many waterways overflowing and a raging torrent,” they said.
For graziers who had endured more than two years of drought, the rain brings a change in outlook. Feed is returning and some families are already thinking about restocking.
In Quorn and the surrounding district, the transformation across the landscape has been just as striking.
“We are thankful for the rainfall – the likes of which have not been seen this time of year since early 1974,” said local resident Rebecca Lyman.
“Dams are full, creeks continue to flow and groundwater has been restored.”
Yet across the region there is also a quiet awareness that one good rain does not always mean the drought has truly broken. In some places the green now visible across the hills hides soils that are still dry beneath the surface, and in the outback a single deluge can sometimes be followed by months without rain.
But rain in the outback rarely arrives without consequence.
Floodwater has damaged crossings and fences. Long station driveways have washed out. Access roads into Hawker have closed while debris and tree stumps are cleared.
For Bush Chaplain Sunny Kadaparambil, pastoral care has continued even when travel has not been possible.
With roads cut off, many conversations have happened by phone. Families speak of the excitement of full dams and green shoots. They also speak about damaged fences, washed-out crossings and the work that now lies ahead.
Across the Flinders Ranges, this season brings both relief and responsibility. The rain has brought life back to the land. It has also left repairs waiting.
Out here, rain can be a gift and a challenge at the same time.
Through it all, Frontier Services Bush Chaplains continue to check in with families across the region – on verandahs, over the phone, and wherever the road allows.
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