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John Flynn
John Flynn (1880–1951)
Reverend John Flynn was a minister of the church who worked as a missionary in outback South Australia and was in charge of the Australian Inland Mission. The Mission's aim was to bring church services and medical care to the people of outback Australia, many of whom lived far from towns.
In the late 1920s, Flynn organised planes to bring doctors to sick people and the Royal Flying Doctor Service was born. People in faraway places needed two-way radio to call the flying doctors. Flynn suggested that they use a new invention called the pedal radio, which did not need batteries. This new radio service lead to the beginning of the 'School of the Air'. John Flynn became known as 'Flynn of the Inland'.
His work has been honoured on stamps. One of the Flying Doctor Service planes and an electorate (voting area) in the Northern Territory are named after him. There is also a monument to him in Alice Springs.
More information on John Flynn is included on the Stories of Democracy CD-ROM.
John Flynn