Debate has been exhaustive over the years, as to who in peoples opinions, are the truly great Australians of past and present. I would like to present my opinion on this subject, by dedicating this page to these truly remarkable people. When consideration is given to the values and virtues of these people I tend to lean towards the persons who have attributed greatly to the country of Australia and its population, through adversity and struggle in times of hardship, rather than towards the people who have acquired vast wealth, like politicians and professional people. 

 One of my most admired person was Sir John Flynn the architect and founder of the Royal Australian Flying Doctor Service. Pictured here on the Aus$20.00 bank note. An aircraft, a pedal radio, a diagnostic chart and a camel can be seen on the note.

In 1839 a Scottish woman Henrietta Smith from Dunesk, Scotland bought some land in South Australia and rented it out. The proceeds in rent was abided over by the Committee of the Free Church of Scotland and was to be used to benefit the local aborigines. She was informed that the aborigines were a dying race and that her money would be wasted if used for that purpose. Although this statement may have been misguided, it did lead indirectly to the creation of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in South Australia. Whilst her money was being held in the bank gathering interest, most of it was not used and later became available to the Presbyterian Church and it was used to establish the 'Smith of Dunesk Mission' at Beltana (SA).

The mission at Beltana was started by the Rev. Robert Mitchell in 1894 to provide spiritual, medical and social needs for all the people of the outback, including the aboriginal peoples. His previous ministry at Port Augusta (SA) had been such, that he was a pioneer in his field, worked extremely hard, found his vocation to be very frustrating and trying but very satisfying and fulfilling. He had taught himself mainly, to become a 'Jack of all Trades', gaining experience with farms, farm animals, especially horses, all which would stand him in good stead in his future work. He studied photography, he bought and used a printing press which was to revolutionise the lives of the outback people living in remote areas. This incredible man extracted teeth, stitched up gashes and wounds, mended broken limbs, knew how to use the thermometer and the lancet. He always seemed to have the time to help the infirmed and the elderly, repairing their homes, give reading lessons to whoever wanted them.

   His life as a missionary in outback South Australia was a very difficult one he travelled by any means available to him, by train, car, horse, mule or camel, it was all the same to him. In one year records show that he travelled almost 4,500km by road, 5000km by train, made visits to 1320 locations, holding services, baptising children and marrying several young couples, all this in a time when travel was certainly not easy!  When the mission was well established he left, leaving the running of the mission to others who came after him. But what an amazing man he was!

The Rev. F.W. Rolland carrying on in the wake of Mitchell, pursued an idea to provide medical services into the area. In 1907 a Sister E.A. Main was stationed at Oodnadatta, about 1000 kms north of Adelaide (SA). When John Flynn born in Moliagul Victoria on 25th Nov.1880 arrived in Beltana, a medical hostel was planned and built and opened by the Rev. Mitchell on Dec 10th 1911. John Flynn came from a modest background, his father being a Presbyterian Minister, so after completing secondary school, it was no surprise to see John Flynn train also to be a Church minister. He graduated from a divinity course at Melbourne University in 1910 and was ordained in January 1911. His work in the outback, his love and compassion for the people of the outback soon came to the Church Elders attention. He was appointed Field Superintendent of the Australian Inland Mission in 1912, a position he held until his death in 1951, a span of 39 years. During his time at Beltana, Flynn travelled far and wide, fine tuning his ideas and eventually opened nursing homes in Beltana, Marree, Alice Springs, Innamincka and several other sites.. Each home had two Sisters who ran the homes and had experience with other church works.

All this time Flynn's mind was busy at work trying to find a way to bring medical services to the people of the outback instead of them having to endure the hardships incurred getting to available help over non-existing roads, many hundreds of miles away. This task at times seemed impossible to Flynn until a man named Jim Darcy of Ruby Plains Station near the remote town of Hall's Creek in WA, who tragically died in 1917, created public interest in the plight of the desperate people of the outback and their need for medical services. A medical student named Clifford Peel from Victoria wrote to Flynn floating the idea of using Aerial Doctors. And an idea was born!

With the help of his friend Hugh Victor McKay in 1926 who made a donation of $4000 and the help of Hudson Fysh and his then Qantas bush airline, the idea became reality on 17th May 1928 with the first flight from Cloncurry in Queensland. The Flying Doctor service later to become the Royal Flying Doctor service, had been established. In their first year alone they treated 255 patients in the outback. Another of John Flynn's concerns was the lack of communication between the towns and cities with the people of the outback until in 1929 an Adelaide Electrician Alf Traeger developed the pedal power radio to provide power for the radio transmitters, they consisted of a pair of bicycle pedals, a gearbox and a dynamo which when operated gave enough power to run the radio's. Another offshoot of the pedal radio, was that it also created the use of the radio to form the School of the Air with which the remote children could get an education and be in touch with other friends and families.

John Flynn was awarded an OBE in 1933. He died on the 5th of May, his ashes interred in a grave a few miles west of Alice Springs. A church in Flynn's honour was completed in 1956 in Alice Springs, the RFDS now operates from 20 different bases around Australia. Truly, an exceptional, amazing man who gave his all for the people of the outback, people he loved dearly!