There is an imaginary line running through the north of South Australia called Goyder’s Line which it was determined that farming above the line would be unviable to early settlers.

Following a long period of yearly above average rainfall many farmers decided to shun the warning and establish cropping farmland well to the north of the no-go boundary. In almost every case, nature had the last say in the matter and reclaimed its own back.

The ruins of this abandoned farmhouse near Hawker in South Australia’s mid-north are a repeated sight all over this region. A poignant reminder that nature takes no prisoners.

Photo: Robert Rath, ‘No Prisoners’, 1/250s f/6.3 ISO100 70mm