Families living on remote grazing properties in the Gulf Savannah region had the opportunity to take time out and learn some important water skills when they came together for Camp Cobbold this month. Frontier Services Savannah Regional Health Service partnered with the North Queensland Royal Lifesaving to conduct a number of Learn to Swim and …

The population of Beltana swelled from 16 to nearly 400 people on the weekend as visitors came from near and far to celebrate the centenary of the establishment of the Australian Inland Mission (AIM). Beltana, a tiny but remarkable settlement 540km north of Adelaide, holds a special place in the history of the AIM as …

AUNTY JESSIE’S VISIT TO BELTANA Submitted by Richard Aitken; Ivanhoe, VIC It’s hard to know where this started but it was probably a recent clean out at my Melbourne office that saw boxes of old files coming home and a commensurate relocation of my family history files to my father’s place in Bendigo. I agonised whether …

FIRST ECUMENICAL WORK CAMP AUGUST – SEPTEMBER,  1955 The first ecumenical work camp organised in Australia – there had already been others around the world, involving young people – was held in 1955. In January that year, Rev. John Alexander, then vice-master of Ormond College, Melbourne, heard that there were insufficient funds for the forecourt …

OUTBACK CAR TRIAL’S LOCAL FINISH LINE.   Murray Pioneer; Friday August 3, 2012.   The Riverland will host the final stage of a national car racing competition later this month. The Classic Outback Trial will start in Forbes, New South Wales, and head west to Cobax and Broken Hill before traveling south to finish in Renmark on Saturday, August 25. Ruston’s Roses will host …

Today is World Mental Health Day. It is a day dedicated to promoting open discussion about how mental illness impacts on people across the world and encouraging people to seek help when they need it. Cunnamulla Patrol Minister Dennis Cousens One in five Australians will experience mental illness this year. For people in rural and …

Passionate volunteers Keith and Roz Skidmore from Hobart say their experience of lending a hand in the outback has not only provided much-needed assistance to the people they visited but enriched their own lives as well. The Skidmores are volunteers with the Frontier Services program Outback Links, which matches appropriately skilled and gifted volunteers with …

Frontier Services staff have returned home refreshed, enthused and full of hope following the Centenary celebrations held in Geelong last week. More than 200 staff travelled from across remote Australia for the National Staff Conference – a wonderful week of celebration, sharing and learning which would not have been possible without the support of our …