Rev John Dihm was formally inducted into the Pilbara Patrol at Tom Price Uniting Church on Tuesday.

As the new Patrol Minister in the Pilbara, John will provide pastoral care and support to people across the whole region.

He will be a listening ear and a helping hand for the people he visits, travelling to cattle stations, mining camps, Aboriginal communities, national parks and remote towns.

John and his wife Marilyn have moved from the Parkin Patrol in outback Sourth Australia to the iron ore mining town Tom Price at the edge of the Hamersley Range. John will work with the community there but also spend a large portion of his time on the road travelling across the Pilbara.

He looks forward to new adventures in the Pilbara. “We will spend time getting to know people and hopefully we’ll fit into the fabric of the place like we did in South Australia.”

John and Marilyn arrived in the Pilbara at the beginning of the month, just after Cyclone Rusty made its way through the region.

They have been warmly welcomed by the community and look forward to meeting new people.

John follows Rev Judy Knowling who was the Pilbara Patrol Minister for nine years before finishing in February 2012.  

The Pilbara Patrol dates back to 1927 when the Methodist Church established the ministry between Port Hedland and Marble Bar and has continued through the ongoing work of Frontier Services, the successor in the Uniting Church to the Methodist Inland Mission and the Australian Inland Mission.

Above: Rosemary Young inducts Rev John Dihm into the Pilbara Patrol.