1917
The idea takes shape
Clifford Peel writes to John Flynn suggesting aircraft could carry medical help across the vast inland.
The beginning
A mantle of safety for the bush.
Reverend John Flynn spent years campaigning for a way to bring medical care to people scattered across remote Australia. A 1917 letter from young medical student and airman Clifford Peel helped provide the aviation blueprint. A bequest from long-time supporter Hugh Victor McKay then helped turn the idea into a working aerial medical service.
1927
QANTAS joins the experiment
Flynn's aerial medical service reaches an agreement with QANTAS to operate an aerial ambulance from Cloncurry, Queensland.
15 May 1928
The service opens
The Australian Inland Mission Aerial Medical Service opens at Cloncurry — the beginning of what becomes the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
17 May 1928
The first flight
Pilot Arthur Affleck and Dr Kenyon St Vincent Welch fly the de Havilland aircraft Victory from Cloncurry to answer an emergency call from Julia Creek.
1929
Radio closes the distance
Alfred Traeger's pedal-powered radio system gives isolated families a practical way to contact the Flying Doctor.
1930s
The service spreads
New sections and bases expand across Australia, including Broken Hill, Western Australia, Alice Springs and beyond.
1942
A new name
The Australian Aerial Medical Service becomes the Flying Doctor Service of Australia.
1955
Royal recognition
The service becomes the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
More than an aeroplane
A health service built around distance.
The modern RFDS is much more than emergency retrieval. It provides primary health care, GP services, mental health care, dental care, maternal and child health services, patient transfers and specialist support across rural and remote Australia.
Every two minutesRFDS says someone in Australia needs the service about every two minutes.
32,949Australians were flown by RFDS aeromedical teams in 2023–24.
81 aircraftThe current national aviation fleet makes RFDS one of Australia's largest aviation operators.
BrainO family support drive
Until 1 January 2027, the BrainO network will direct $1 for every user to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
Anyone who would like to give more can donate directly through the official RFDS donation page. Direct donations of $2 or more are tax deductible for eligible donors, with the receipt issued by RFDS.
Make an extra donation to RFDS ↗The $1 network contribution is made by BrainO. A personal tax deduction applies only to an eligible donation the donor personally makes to RFDS.
Broken Hill, Menindee and the screen
Where the real outback and the television stories meet.
The Flying Doctor story became part of Australian television history. Crawford Productions' The Flying Doctors grew from a 1985 mini-series into the long-running series that began in 1986. Its fictional Coopers Crossing was filmed mainly around Minyip in Victoria, with other locations including Broken Hill and parts of New South Wales.
Decades later, Seven's RFDS was filmed on location at the real RFDS base in Broken Hill and was developed with RFDS consultation. That places the television story firmly back in the Far West landscape — the same broader country that includes Menindee.
Menindee and the Far West
Menindee forms part of the wider Far West story surrounding Broken Hill and the communities served across remote New South Wales. The strongest verified television connection is with Broken Hill, while the original series is most closely associated with Minyip in Victoria. Menindee is included for its place in the Far West story rather than being described as a principal filming location.
Memories of Menindee from 1978–79 come before the television production: the original mini-series arrived in 1985 and the continuing series began in 1986.
Supported by the BrainO family
The whole network is behind it.
Every BrainO website, product and service is part of the RFDS support drive through to 1 January 2027.
brainoaid.comhome.brainoaid.combraino.com.aubraino.probraino.ltbraino.techphone.brainoaid.combuilder.brainoaid.comvendors.brainoaid.complay.brainoaid.comsearch.brainoaid.comthehandymantoknow.com.aumypharmacy.agencypodium32.com.aubrisbane32.siteaussiedate.sitewakeupnow.com.auoimailman.comapphandy.com.auworkingclassaussie.comjayandjackshow.liveplanawedding.cloudtinytalkersclub.com.ausearchandfindthegold.funBrainOaway / austrip.appEvery BrainO product supports the drive
Phone services, business tools, websites, marketplaces, legal tools, builders, learning products, creative products and every other BrainO product or service are included in the network support commitment.
The supporter list includes the main public BrainO websites. All BrainO sub-sites, product pages and network services are included in the same support drive.
A century of Australian ingenuity
One idea that kept growing.
From Flynn's vision, Peel's aviation idea, McKay's bequest, QANTAS aircraft, Traeger's pedal radio and the first Cloncurry flight, the RFDS became one of the defining services of remote Australia. It is a story of doctors, nurses, pilots, engineers, patients, families and communities solving the problem of distance together.
The Flying Doctor is part of Australia's story — a service built around distance, practical ingenuity and looking after people wherever they live.
Sources used for the history
- Royal Flying Doctor Service — History of the Flying Doctor and John Flynn biography.
- Royal Flying Doctor Service — RFDS Sections history and current fleet information.
- Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section — Broken Hill / Dubbo history.
- Australian Screen / NFSA — production history for The Flying Doctors.
- Royal Flying Doctor Service — 2021 coverage of Seven's RFDS filming at Broken Hill.