My love for people of the Outback began as a child when I learned about Rev John Flynn & his ‘mantle of safety’ vision.
I was fascinated to learn of the Flying Doctor and contact via the pedal wirless.
The names of the stations on the roofs of the homesteads and planes coming to the sick & injured, remain a vivid memory of slides shown to us at church as a child.
Somehow these stories in school, Sunday school and church, in the tiny Victorian town of Hawkesdale,left a lasting impression on my young mind.
Little did I know God would one day lead me on a journey to the Outback, to be involved with Frontier Services as a nurse, to be married to an RFDS pilot and have a daughter attend St Phillip’s College in Alice Springs.
Thirty years of my married life was spent in Alice Springs, twenty as a Registered Nurse at the Old Timer’s home, Frontier Services Aged Care facility.
My late husband was an RFDS pilot for almost twenty five years and our daughter completed her secondary education at St Phillip’s College, later teaching music there for a time.
As I reflect on my many years of association with Frontier Services (AIM), St Phillip’s College and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, I thank God for the very special journey it was. I have wonderful memories of remarkable people, friends made and friends lost. Indeed a treasured part of my life’s journey thus far.