Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Between 14 and 17 May each year, Royal Flying Doctor Service Day is celebrated around Australia in the different states and territories. This Saturday night is the RFDS annual black tie gala dinner in Adelaide, which aims to raise funds and increase awareness of this vital service. The RFDS was founded by John Flynn, and this Sunday marks 98 years since the first flying doctor flight took off from Cloncurry, flying 85 miles to Julia Creek in Central Queensland. The aircraft was a de Havilland DH.50 called Victory which was supplied by Qantas. In its first year of operation, the Flying Doctor flew 20,000 miles across 50 flights, becoming the first comprehensive air ambulance service in the entire world.

The organisation now uses expertly fitted out Pilatus PC-12 and PC-24 aircraft, as well as the Beechcraft King Air 200 series and Cessna Caravan. Each day, these aircraft travel thousands of kilometres by air across this great country, performing hundreds of landings, facilitating hundreds of patient contacts and hundreds of aeromedical retrievals. For almost 100 years, the RFDS has been there, time and time again, for regional, rural and remote communities of Australia, providing emergency retrievals and primary health care. Let's keep the Royal Flying Doctor Service flying.

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