AIM Nurses in the outback, 1901 to World War II

This is a book about John Flynn's AIM "angels" of the Australian Outback in the early twentieth century and the vital roles they played in fulfilling his dreams for a "mantle of safety" over the isolation of the bush.

There are sensitive and moving accounts of Jeannie Gunn at Elsey station in 1901 and her subsequent work in Melbourne; Jessie Litchfield at west Arm; Jean Finlayson and Ida Standley in Alice Springs during World War I; Minnie Kinnear as a Border Nurse at Innamincka; Grace Francis pioneering a cottage hospital in the isolation of Birdsville heroic nursing from two Territorian nurses, Ruth Heathcock and Elsie Jones; the world's first woman Flying Doctor, Jean White, the "Angel of the North"; and many other dedicated women.

Confronted by rough, tough bush communities, these young women from the cities experienced culture shock we can barely imagine today. Epic, life-threatening journeys to minister to the sick were part of workday life for these gallant women and we can only marvel at their dedication amid the heat, the dust and the haunting loneliness.

They sought no praise nor great reward, but in the words of John Flynn, their mentor and inspiration, "Silent lives often accomplish more".

by Jeanne Ryckmans

The story of Sister Jensen's aerial ministry and the women to whom her life has been devoted. 

Thank goodness for Pope John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council because wearing a long mediaeval-style habit complete with veil and stockings would hardly be the right outfit for climbing in and out of my Cessna plane three or four times a day in forty degrees-plus heat. Nor would it be suitable for attending the Birdsville races, helping a publican's wife pull beers in an outback pub or joining in the odd bit of boot scootin' and line dancing.'
A baseball cap, riding boots and a Cessna aeroplane are not normally part of the image that comes to mind when we think of a nun - but then Sister Anne Maree Jensen's 'Aerial Ministry' is not a conventional calling either.
For over ten years Sister Anne Maree flew over some of the most remote parts of outback south-west Queensland, bringing companionship to the women who live in her vast bush parish. The stoic resilience of these women who battle against drought and loneliness in a harsh environment provides the 'Flying Nun' with the inspiration to pursue her unusual mission.
This is not just Sister Anne Maree's story, it is also the story of the many women to whom her life and work are devoted. With humour, fatalism and hope, these women of the west tell of their own experiences: happiness, tragedy, their solitude and the heroism that is everyday life but also the sense of communion and wonder which the bush never ceases to awake in them. 248pp.

Almost single-handedly John Flynn brought to the outback the flying doctor service and the bush hospitals. 

S/cover 244pp.

AIM Nurses in the outback, World War II to 2002.

The book is not only about high drama and coping with emergency illnesses, it is also about the loyalty and fellowship which transcend privation. There is a potpourri of hilarious stories reported by the nurses in such places as Halls’ Creek, Kununurra, Fitzroy Crossing, Coen and Alice Springs.

Jean Auld’s adventures in the Birdsville hospital in the late 1940s encompassed a rat plague, a flood, scabies, emergency childbirth, pulling teeth, preaching and an almost fatal truck explosion. Most touching was Lois Hurse’s work with outback children in a humble hostel at Halls Creek in the 1950s and the delightful story of how these shy outback children visited the Queen Mother in Canberra in 1957. Beth Symonds’ intimate letters home from her AIM posts in Oodnadatta in the ’50s, and Coen in the ’60s -- evoking her midwifery with Aboriginal girls, her treatment of picanninnies and her desperate attempts to save the sick and the wounded. Adelaide Miethke’s achievements for outback women in Central Australia and in developing the famous School of the Air for children are legendary. The stories of Meg and Fred McKay are a highlight of the book. And, uniting all of these wonderfully vivid stories is John Flynn’s Mantle of Safety. If we Australians can re-discover the bush camaraderie and love that are alive in this book, we shall be a great nation.

Bill 'Swampy' Marsh

Marsh brings us a collection of remarkable anecdotes from the vast Australian outback. Hear the authentic voices of men and women sharing their stories with Bill and be inspired by their often funny tales of adventure, sadness and courage

John Flynn 

One of Australia's greatest folk heroes. Flynn dedicated his life to bringing communications, well-being and safety to outback residents. Ivan Rudolph brings out Flynn who like no other, revolutionised the lives of people in the Never Never country.

By Bill Marsh

The Royal Flying Doctor Service is a unique icon of Australian culture. Since its beginnings with the Reverend John Flynn in 1928, the RFDS has helped build a nation. Its many pilots, doctors, nurses and support staff still risk their lives daily to save others. They, and the remote stations and communities that they serve, have become enduring symbols of what it means to be Australian. In MORE GREAT AUSTRALIAN FLYING DOCTOR STORIES Bill ′Swampy′ Marsh has gathered together another fascinating swag of first-hand stories from all walks of life, capturing the larrikin voices retelling the wonderful, frightening, hilarious, tragic and poignant true stories before the tales and the tellers vanish into the mists of time. This remarkable anecdotal record is a chronicle that reminds us of our past and keeps us in touch with the independent and inspired pioneers of our inland.

A collection of stories compiled by Gaye Richardson. 

Essential to continuing John Flynn's spread of a "mantle of safety" to the outback where the the nurses who accompanied every flight. In Nurses with Altitude those who flew out across the vast state of Western Australia tell their stories in their own words.

Perhaps the best book on the RFDS, written by the staff from their own experiences.

S/cover. 244 pages

Ten Thousand Hours 

Harry Moss. Ten thousand hours in the life of a flying doctor pilot during the 1940s and 1950s. 126 pp.

Fred McKay

Traeger loved the smell of gum trees on the banks of bush creeks. He found a strange happiness in giving what he called 'a big surprise' to isolated families in the Never Never who were completely cut off from the rest of the world. He gave them the miracle pedal radio so they could call the flying doctor, and he kept on bringing the benefits of wireless to people of the bush all his life.

Traeger was a revolutionary and didn't know it.