My love for people of the Outback began as a child when I learned about Rev John Flynn & his ‘mantle of safety’ vision. I was fascinated to learn of the Flying Doctor and contact via the pedal wirless. The names of the stations on the roofs of the homesteads and planes coming to the sick & …

This song, the Frontier Services Pumpkin Patrol, shares a little bit about what our Patrol Ministers do every day to support people in remote places. Adam Cousens, the son of Cunnamulla Patrol Minister Dennis Cousens, wrote the song especially for the Centenary year and the National Staff Conference. The song was first performed at the …

THE MAN ON THE $20 NOTE.   ABC: Compass; 23 September 2012.   100 years ago this week the Australian Inland Mission was founded by Rev John Flynn – a 20th century visionary who built bush hospitals, helped develop the Pedal Radio and most famously pioneered the world’s first Flying Doctor Service. Today the Australian Inland Mission goes by …

CENTENARY CELEBRATION FOR FRONTIER SERVICES.   Ararat Adertiser; Tuesday August 14, 2012.   STAWELL – From humble beginnings as the Australian Inland Mission led by John Flynn and including the development of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, Frontier Services continues to serve the outback after a century. Stawell Uniting Church has been involved in supporting isolated people in the outback in …

CLASSIC OUTBACK TRIAL SHIFTS INTO TOP GEAR.  Forbes Advocate; Tuesday August 12, 2012.   The start to the 2012 Classic Outback Trial is on track – quite literally – ahead of this Saturday’s prologue time trials here in Forbes. Event Director and Deputy Clerk of Course Philip Bernadou yesterday confirmed the first car to Saturday’s rally time trial will depart from the starting line at the Forbes Jockey …

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 …