WHILE the modern day Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) provides a valued medical service right across Queensland, the roots of the organisation go back to North Queensland.
This year the RFDS celebrates 80 years since it began.
On the May 17, 1928, the very first Flying Doctor flight took off from Cloncurry to answer a call for help from Julia Creek.
On board the De Havilland, a single engine, fabric covered bi-plane called Victory, was the first flying doctor, Dr Kenyon St Vincent Welch and the first flying doctor pilot, Captain Arthur Affleck.
Their aircraft had the most basic instruments and no radio, and was in fact leased from Qantas.
On that day, the Reverend John Flynn’s extraordinary vision to alleviate the isolation and suffering of people living the harsh outback became a reality and a quintessential part of the fabric of Australia.
Some of the first series of bases for the RFDS were also established in North Queensland.
In 1952, an RFDS base was set up in Charters Towers. Then in 1964, the original Cloncurry base was moved to Mount Isa.
The Cairns base began in 1972 after it was transferred from Charters Towers, and in 1995, a Rockhampton base also began.
Today there are eight bases operating in Queensland; Mount Isa, Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Brisbane, Bundaberg, Charleville and Longreach.
In 2008, the organisation is celebrating not only Rev John Flynn’s dream but the incredible technological advances in medicine, aviation and communication which have allowed the Flying Doctor to bring the Bush and coastal cities closer.
It is also a time to celebrate the spirit of Australians whose courage continues to inspire the RFDS to provide excellence in aero-medical and primary health care across Australia.