Decay is a part of nature. It is a way of returning to mother earth the resources to rebuild life. Nothing is immune from this. Not a tree, a bird, a person. Not even a building. These human structures equally pass through a transition from a once new sturdy structure, into a rotting, crumbling, lifeless skeleton invaded by nature. While some of these unique places are restored there are many that are left to wither and die.
And it is these mysterious creatures we decided to go searching for in a trip through the Warrumbungle and Gilgandra Shire, in Western NSW.
Chances are, there’s an abandoned eyesore that you already know. While first impressions are that they are rat infested, filthy, dangerous places, upon closer inspection they can be a thing of mystery….and dare i say it - beauty.
Abandoned houses and buildings have always drawn my curiosity. As a photographer these are a treasure trove of compositions. It can be the smallest detail such as the peeling paint, to the lonely forlorn building being consumed in a thicket of blackberry, or the way the light casts its rays through a broken window.
This trip was about roaming the countryside in the hope not just capturing a single image, but telling a story of life and decay in the country. What quickly became apparent was the hunt was easier than initially thought, with every small country town, and backroad filling up the camera memory.
We waded through chest deep grasses hoping to not disturb a sleeping brown snake, crept in and out of buildings, tested spongy floorboards, and - in one instance - were invited into a property by the owner to see what we could find.
Many of the buildings we explored were as creepy as they were fascinating. Ghost stories and haunted houses are the first thing that enters a child’s mind when they see a building such as this. Bu it is not just a child’s mind that starts to hear noises, or sees moving shadows when walking through these homes.
With every abandoned building we photographed there was no shortage of questions that hang over its roof: what caused someone to just get up, walk away, and leave this building behind? Who used to sit in the wicker chair in the shade of the verandah? How long have the news papers been accumulating on the front door step? Where did they go? Why hasn’t it been demolished yet?
If only it was as simple as the old saying - “if these walls could talk”. But it is much more complex than that.
As we silently circle the buildings we whisper to each other, unsure if we are keeping quiet so we dont disturb someone who may somehow be still living amongst the squalor, or for fear of waking the ghosts. Should we knock on the door to see if there is still someone inside? We decide not to in case we discover a human skeleton still sitting in the armchair, the dust filled coffee cup perched on the side table where it was last sipped 20 years ago.
Peering through the broken windows it is an odd feeling of being in a distorted time warp. The cup left in the sink. The newspaper on the fireplace mantle. A lone pair of shoes outside the bedroom door. In some instances it is as though the person has up and left taking nothing but themselves. While anything of any value or use has been removed long ago, what is left behind still leaves the traces of the last few seconds of habitation.
Sometimes it is not easy to tell if there is life inside. While it may be easy to assume that the owner has long gone, there are many examples where physical incapacity or mental illness allows the home to deteriorate around their feet. Unfortunately there is little to differentiate between a deserted house and that of an unfortunate hoarder. Or, maybe the owner still comes back to check on it, not wanting to let something go? But in most instances the reality is that they are left to the possums and mice to make their den, the homeless traveler to squat, or more disappointingly the bored gang of teenagers to scrawl profanities on the wall or light a fire in the middle of the loungeroom floor.
It is not just old homes that are left to the ghosts. Venturing through the many small country towns that dot throughout the miles of farmland, it is equally likely you will find a disused shop or business that has equally succumbed to the ravages of time. Some, like the example below, have tried to sustain life by converting in to a home. But not even this could prevent its ultimate demise.
Behind every closed shop door is a deeper story. Not just the individual tale of why fresh bread is no longer being passed over the counter, but a bigger story of why so many of these country towns are joining the graveyard. Our ever growing demand for cheaper meat, bread and clothing is ultimately killing our farms. We were once proud to say “Australia rode on the sheeps back”. Now we are unwittingly destroying one of the unique characteristics of what makes Australia, Australia.
Many farms cant compete with overseas cheap products, or the squeeze of the supermarkets demanding more for less. The thirst for efficiency drives the amalgamation of farms which means less farmers. This is being made even harder due to the onset of drought and floods as a result of climate change. Sons and daughters can no longer see a future. The population declines along with the homesteads left behind. With this, money leaves the town resulting in a cascade of business closures. What was once a flourishing bakery covered in a dusting of flour, is now just covered in dust.
While there are often random personal belongings that get left behind, many items make their way into second hand stores, ‘opp. shops’, or sometimes into the bigger city “antique shop”. The same item usually triples in cost the closer you get to the City, so it is always fun to explore any of the remaining country second hand shops in search of something unique (such as a bread tin). The good news is, anything you find here will last a life time compared to the modern, cheap, imported, plastic ‘thing’ that is lucky to last 12 months before being relegated to the dust bin. What is certain that many of the goods of today will never be found in a second hand store or antique shop in the future.
Empty shops are not the only thing that you will find as you travel throughout the countryside. Technology brings with it many advantages. One of these is safer and more fuel efficient vehicles. The down side is these cars are more complex meaning the outback mechanic can no longer rely on a hammer and wrench to fix them but require an IT degree to access the car computer chip. In some cases now the farmer no longer owns the tractor but merely receive “an implied license” to operate the vehicle.
Fuel efficiency is also meaning that we no longer need to stop every 200 km to fill up. This is exacerbated in those instances where new motorways completely bypass a town and large multinational ‘Service Centres’ lining their edge meaning there is no reason to call in to the the local ‘servo’.
In the short term we may value the efficiency of a ‘Service Centre” with their multiple self-serve petrol bowsers, self-serve slurpees and fast food. But good luck speaking to the pimply 16 year old at the counter when your car actually has something broken and you need some assistance to repair it. Or worse still, you crave for a true pastie or vanilla slice baked that morning at the local bakery, compared to a mass produced packaged one that has travelled two weeks to get to the Service Centre.
It seemed the further away we travelled from the towns, the more decrepit the buildings became. While some were left to nature to take over, in others examples farm animals have decided to occupy the lounge rooms and kitchens. I could almost imagine the goat cooking dinner over the stove only to pause and bleat out the window to the horse that it was time to come in for dinner.
In other instances, the animals pay little attention to the human artefacts that coexist in their paddock.
So why do many of us have an interest in these buildings? I suppose it’s similar, in some ways, to the fascination we have with shipwrecks. The mystery around why and how the ship came to lie on the bottom of the ocean. The excitement of a chance finding of something valuable.
While this all may be true, I really think the reason I like searching for these buildings is just an excuse to go driving through the countryside with no plan or destination.
The popularity of exploring old building is a world wide phenomenon. You will find a huge number of photos on the internet if you search for Urban Exploring or ‘Urbex’ . Many of these focus on large abandoned buildings such as hospitals or power plants found in the urban environment. While this has its own unique allure, it is the smaller homes and buildings that grab me the most.
While we managed to explore many homes, the associated sheds perched on the hillside amongst the fields are just as fascinating. Their sheets of corrugated red rusted iron, with curled openings as though a giant can-opener had just been used. While some still manage to be useful, many are no longer in use due to the elements taking their tole, or being replaced by bigger and newer colourbond sheds.
Much like our trip coming to an end, we discover homes that are nearing their own end. The termites have consumed everything they can and moved on and the walls have either rotten away or been removed for firewood. What remains is a lone chimney rising out of the vegetation, like a gravestone leaving a reminder of memories that once were there. But like many cemeteries, the occasional blooming flowers bringing new life and colour to an otherwise somber moment.
We could have spent many more weeks exploring but the camera memory was getting full sot it was time to turn east and head for home. I will leave you a small selection of other images from the trip and allow you to imagine your own story on what lies behind each of these.
A quick thanks to my brother and sister who joined me on this adventure. While the photography was great, the real value from the trip was spending time with you both, sharing a passion and having some laughs along the way.
ps: where is our next adventure???
