We have dug into our photo archives to help celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Royal Flying Doctors Service.
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Before there was the Flying Doctor there was little medical help for people who lived in places far from cities. If they were seriously injured they had to travel hundreds of kilometres by horse, cart, or camel to reach a doctor. They often died before they got there.
Reverend John Flynn witnessed the daily struggle of pioneers living in remote areas and had a vision to provide a 'mantle of safety' for the people of the bush.
He once said "If you start something worthwhile - nothing can stop it" and this simple truth is evidenced by the RFDS today, 90 years on.
On 15 May 1928, Flynn's dream became a reality when a long time supporter, H.V. McKay, left a large bequest for 'an aerial experiment'.
This enabled Flynn to open the Australian Inland Mission Aerial Medical Service (later to be renamed the Royal Flying Doctor Service).
The first Flying Doctor took flight on the 17th of May, 1928 in a single engine leased Qantas plane from Cloncurry, Queensland.
