John Flynn (clergyman)

John Flynn, 1929

Reverend John Flynn (born November 25, 1880 near Bendigo , † May 5, 1951 in Sydney ) was the founder of the world's first flying medical service. He founded the Australian Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia , making the outback a safer place to live for its residents.

Life

John Flynn was born near Bendigo (VIC) in 1880 . His mother died in childbed when he was three years old, so he was raised alone first by his aunt and then by his strict father. From an early age he got it into his head to become a pastor. After having already gained experience as a lay preacher, he began to study theology in Melbourne at Ormond College, an institute of the University of Melbourne. Recalling the loneliness of the outback, he wrote a booklet, The Bushman's Companion , which included information on first aid, postal service, and the proper conduct of a funeral.

Alice Springs tomb of John Flynn.

Alice Springs tomb of John Flynn (detail).

He was ordained a priest by the Presbyterian Church on January 24, 1911. His first job was in Beltana in northern South Australia , then a tiny settlement 500 km north of Adelaide . In 1912, when he was hired by his church's mission leaders to write a report on the living conditions and religious needs of the residents of the Northern Territory , he seized the opportunity. He traveled to Katherine, Bathurst Island, and Adelaide River to interview people. His work impressed the church leadership so much that he was given the task of looking for ways to implement his plans. The Australian Inland Mission (AIM) was founded later this year . He became their first superintendent . Since, in addition to spiritual work, the need for medical care seemed great to him, a total of fifteen bush hospitals were built so that more doctors could help the inhabitants of the 2 million km² large outback. He wanted the bush to be safe enough for men to marry and raise their families there. But the distances were still too great. He needed two things above all - means of communication and transportation. Maybe then help could be flown to where it was needed. Articles about this idea appeared in several newspapers in the country and he began to pick it up in his magazine The Inlander , which he had published since 1913.

As early as 1917, John Flynn was thinking about the use of then modern technologies such as radio and airplanes and considered how they could help to provide the necessary assistance. He received a letter from an Australian pilot in World War I , Clifford Peel, who had heard of his considerations and had shown him the possibilities and costs of aircraft available at the time. After the First World War, there were both airplanes and pilots in sufficient numbers in Australia, only communication seemed difficult. Still, Flynn began z. B. to collect donations for this project through publications in church newspapers.

The flying doctors

The first flying doctor took off on August 2, 1927. They brought in a man who had a pelvic fracture and a back injury. Qantas Airways took over many rescue flights and worked on this experiment by John Flynn. On November 19, 1927, the Flying Doctor scheme was established at a meeting at Qantas. On March 27, 1928, the collaboration was approved and sealed with a one-year contract. The first aircraft was named Victory . There was still no medical care on board, the plane was only used for transportation. In collaboration with Qantas, precise rules have been drawn up to ensure the safety of flight personnel as well as patients. The doctor was never allowed to be the pilot himself, the doctor was flown in urgent cases, medical advice was to be given by radio, clinics were to be set up where the doctors could not go and to contact the stations of the flying doctors. Some of them were only manned by a nurse, a doctor was only flown in when necessary. The first base of the Flying Doctors was inaugurated in May 1928 in Cloncurry (QLD). This is now in Mount Isa . The world's first flying doctor - Dr. Vincent Welch - saw 255 patients in his first year. However, many people who lived far from the telephone and telegraph could not benefit from it. Miraculously, John Flynn managed to expand his program even during the Great Depression and find support from politicians and church officials to expand this service nationwide.

At the time, the radio was a novelty and not a part of everyday life, but Flynn saw its potential. He met Alfred Traeger , an electrical engineer who was experimenting with the radio. After many unsuccessful attempts and experiments, Traeger produced what is known as a pedal radio. One user could step on the pedals with their hands free for the Morse code on the dials. On June 20, 1929, the first official message from Augustus Downs was transmitted to North Queensland. The cost of this walkie-talkie was $ 65, and Flynn saw his vision take shape. In 1937 the Morse code writer was history, the telephone appeared. In 1939, Traeger brought out a model that completely dispensed with pedals. He used a vibrator unit. Emergency call systems connected outstations to the hospital at any time of the day or night.

In 1934 the Australian Aerial Medical Service was founded. In 1939, another base was set up in Alice Springs to celebrate the centenary of the Rural Women's Association honoring the pioneer women and their accomplishments in colonizing the outback. By November 1939, each state had its own Aerial Medical Service (AMS) and the AIM had hospitals in remote areas across the country. There were now six planes with pilots and doctors belonging to the AMS . In mid-2011, this non-profit organization operates 61 aircraft from 21 locations and supplies the regions of the entire continent outside the metropolitan areas.

John Flynn died of cancer on May 5, 1951 in the Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. His funeral ceremony was broadcast on the flying doctors network and broadcast to the most remote settlements and stations of the outback. Today there are a variety of memorials to Flynn across Australia. The John Flynn Memorial Church in Alice Springs opened on May 5, 1956, five years after Flynn's death. The Royal Flying Doctor Service - which has been allowed to wear the addition Royal since a visit by the Queen in 1956 - and the Australian Inland Mission give daily testimony to the visions and dreams of John Flynn.

Web links

• Flynn, John (1880-1951) in the Australian Dictionary of Biography
• Biography of John Flynn (de.)
• John Flynn biography (en.)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Aviation Statistics. (No longer available online.) Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia , June 30, 2011, archived from the original on August 20, 2012 ; accessed on August 23, 2012 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.