UNITING Church elder and rural advocate Everald Compton recollected his Sunday school days – a time when in awe of the good works of flying doctor founder John Flynn.
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“I was a big John Flynn fan,” he said in Cloncurry while speaking at the opening of the Anzac 100 Touchscreen Kiosk and Flynn’s Lantern Slide Show.
“I’m so much a fan of John Flynn I’m working on a book about him, a book in the form of a novel.
“He was one of the greatest pioneers Australia produced.”
Mr Compton’s Sunday school occasionally had a “John Flynn Sunday” when children donated a gift towards the flying doctor.
“Every year I used to put a penny in, which in the 1930s would have bought me a big ice-cream,” Mr Compton said in a tone indicating the significance of his donation.
Reverend John Flynn was known as Flynn of the Inland and was described at the ceremony as a visionary who changed the face of the Australian Outback with the formation of the flying doctor service.
He used his lantern slide show to generate support for his missions, and was able to raise thousands of pounds.
“He never, never accepted anyone telling him that something could not be done,” Mr Compton said.
Reverend John Flynn has been well recognised for his work – so much so that he’s on the $20 note - but “outback heroes” who also contributed to the flying doctor service, including Clifford Peel, Grace Francis, Eric Donaldson and Jim Stevens, were not so well known.
Visitors to the John Flynn Museum can now learn of these historic figures in the new touchscreen kiosks.
The ceremony celebrating these touch screens attracted descendants of the Outback Heroes and former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer, who opened the event.
Cloncurry Mayor Andrew Daniels said it was special to share the celebrations with Outback Heroes descendants.
He acknowledged the Friends of John Flynn Place Association for its unwavering support of the John Flynn Place Museum and Art Gallery.
“Rural and remote communities, just like Cloncurry, are privileged to be serviced by the Royal Flying Doctor, and we continue to be humbled by, and appreciative of, the support we receive,” Cr Daniels said.
