The John Flynn Foundation

Honouring the Legacy of a Visionary

The John Flynn Foundation

Honouring the Legacy of a Visionary

The Endowment Fund for Frontier Services

The John Flynn Foundation is the endowment fund for Frontier Services.

It provides for the long-term needs of isolated communities and individuals in Australia by building capital; the investment income is used to fund the work of Bush Chaplains while the capital continues to grow over time and provides a sustainable income stream into the future.

We honour the memory of Reverend John Flynn in the name of our Foundation, recognising that it’s not just about a gift today but an investment in the future of rural and remote Australia, continuing his vision of a “mantle of safety” over the inland.

Reverend John Flynn dedicated his life to ensuring that Australia’s most isolated communities were never forgotten. In 1912, he founded the Australian Inland Mission—a pioneering initiative that brought spiritual, pastoral, and practical care directly to the Outback. His revolutionary vision of providing a “mantle of safety” for those living in remote areas set the standard for community support that endures to this day.

Reverend John Flynn’s legacy, and yours

Plenty has changed in rural and remote Australia since the beginning of the 20th century, but some things remain the same.

When Rev John Flynn envisioned a “mantle of safety” to enrich and protect our Outback communities, he was responding to the overwhelming need he witnessed firsthand.

Where there are people in the bush struggling with hardship and isolation, our network of Bush Chaplains and Outback Links volunteers, through your legacy, will provide this mantle of safety.

If you start something worthwhile, nothing can stop it.

- Reverend John Flynn

Leaving a Gift in your Will to the John Flynn Foundation

Making a Will is one of the most important decisions you can make in your life. It ensures your wishes are carried out and the values you hold most dear continue through the work of others, like the amazing work of our Bush Chaplains.

Gifts to the John Flynn Foundation, the endowment fund for Frontier Services, help build a significant reserve which provides a steady and long-term income stream to support our Bush Chaplaincy program.

Reverend John Flynn

John Flynn was born on 25 November 1880 in the goldmining village of Moliagul, Victoria. When he finished high school, Flynn trained as a teacher and worked for four years before committing to religious studies.

As a lay pastor, he travelled with the Presbyterian missionaries to remote settlements in Victoria and experienced firsthand the desperate and dangerous plight of the inland pioneers and their communities.

Following his ordination as a Minister in the Presbyterian Church on 24 January 1911, Flynn undertook a journey through central Australia and the Northern Territory with the express aim of producing a report on the living conditions of outback settlers.

A keen photographer, Flynn also included images and maps that illustrated the need for better medical services in the outback.

The Presbyterian Assembly were impressed by what they saw and supported Flynn’s plans for what would soon become known as the ‘Australian Inland Mission’ (now Frontier Services).

(Source: Portrait of a Nation)

The Australian Inland Mission

The Australian Inland Mission, which was responsible for the Northern Territory and the remote parts of South Australia, Western Australia, and Queensland, began with one Patrol Padre, Bruce Plowman, a nursing sister, and a nursing hostel at Oodnadatta.

In 1913 Flynn launched the illustrated magazine The Inlander. By 1918 he had established patrols at Oodnadatta, Port Hedland, Broome, Pine Creek and Cloncurry and nursing sisters at Oodnadatta, Port Hedland, Halls Creek, Maranboy and Alice Springs.

In 1926 he persuaded Alfred Traeger to come to Alice Springs and develop the pedal radio. A radio station was installed at the Presbyterian Church at Cloncurry and pedal sets were placed at homesteads and missions.

(Source: The National Library of Australia)