History
The Australian Inland Mission was established in 1912 by the Rev John Flynn (later founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service) of the Presbyterian Church. The initial focus of AIM was to provide medical services to those living in remote Outback areas. In the 1930's the AIM relinquished its control over the RFDS. With the formation of the Uniting Church of Australia in 1977, the work of AIM was continued through the Presbyterian Inland Mission and Frontier Services.
Rev. Leonard Daniels
1891 - 1981
The Rev. Leonard Daniels, known as 'the flying padre', is the pioneer of the use of the aeroplane for
religious work in Australia. He came to the Bush Church Aid Society as a missionary in December 1922, and was allocated to the West Darling mission area. Based in Wilcannia from 1922 to 1932, the young, English curate ministered to the thousands of people who were then scattered over 66,000 square kilometres in western NSW. It wasn't until 1928 that he took to the skies. His work was wonderfully successful and his use of a plane inspired Rev John Flynn to introduce the Flying Doctor Service of Australia in 1928. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/16854380 , https://www.kurrajonghistory.org.au/millstones/wm_2008_03.pdf and
The Very Rev. Dr. John Flynn
1880 - 1951
John Flynn devoted his life to making Australia's vast inland safer and less isolated. Ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1912, he was posted to Beltana in the Flinders Ranges. In his 1912 report titled 'The Northern Territory and Central Australia - A Call to the Church' Flynn outlined the practical and spiritual needs of the inland - and the Australian Inland Mission was born. 'Flynn of the Inland' as he became known, threw himself into a range of projects, from establishing bush hospitals to coordinating a group of 'Patrol Padres'.
The Very Rev. Dr. J. Fred McKay
1907 - 2000
In 1934, Rev. Dr. Fred McKay, a newly ordained Presbyterian minister was hoping to pursue theological studies abroad ... but a visit from John Flynn changed the course of his life. Flynn's vivid descriptions of the Australian Inland Mission's work persuaded Fred to become an itinerant 'Patrol Padre'. His 'parish' from one end of the outback to the other, included Cloncurry, the nerve centre of the recently established Flying Doctor Service. In 1938, he married Margaret Robertson, whose hard work and dedication made her a much-loved outback figure in her own right.
