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 …

The focus turned to the future today as the Frontier Services Centenary National Staff Conference in Geelong draws to a close. A diverse range of speakers examined the challenges and the choices facing remote Australia today and reflected on how Frontier Services can continue to build sustainable communities as we move forward into the next …

Close to 80 Frontier Services staff were celebrated today for their long service with the organisation in a special presentation at the National Staff Conference held in Geelong. Staff from across the country were individually acknowledged and called on to the stage to recognise their commitment and the time they had spent with Frontier Services. …

Stories were retold and friends reunited as the Frontier Services family came together last night at the Centenary Staff Reunion dinner. About 100 former staff, volunteers and supporters of the Australian Inland Mission (AIM) and Frontier Services travelled from all parts of the country to be there for this special Centenary reunion at the Geelong …

People came from near and far yesterday for a moving celebration at the Dallas Brooks Centre to celebrate the Centenary of the establishment of the Australian Inland Mission. Rev Gregor Henderson, Chair of the John Flynn Foundation and former member of the AIM Board and Frontier Services Committee, gave a rousing welcome and call to …