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Brisbane Airport and the Royal Flying Doctor Service (Queensland Section) (RFDS) have enjoyed a remarkable 15-year partnership dedicated to providing critical care to remote areas across Queensland. To celebrate this milestone, Brisbane Airport recently launched its "Name the Plane" competition, calling on the community to help name one of the aircrafts in the RFDS fleet.
Drum roll please….and the winner is: Drover.
There were some wonderful entries including Dibbil (the Turrubul word for eagle) and Sunnie (for the Sunshine State) from over 3,200 votes but the winning name, Drover, resonated deeply with the Australian spirit and was chosen for its homage to the tireless work of the RFDS.
In a touching letter to the RFDS, Max shared his personal connection and appreciation for the service. Now age 92, Max wrote about how the RFDS saved his life along with countless others in remote areas, providing emergency medical assistance and bringing hope in times of need.
Max's letter eloquently captures the essence of the RFDS's mission and the profound impact the service has had on individuals and communities.
Here is Max’s letter:
Thank you for my 2nd go at life.
The RFDS – for those uninformed – stands for the greatest service that was put together to service outback Australians – The Royal Flying Doctor Service.
I sit here at age 92, having just lost my wife of 44 years – distraught – but mindful that your service made this possible by saving my life in the early 50s – a young stockman lying in the mud and rain at Dunbar’s wet weather airstrip up in the Gulf, on the Mitchell River with a burst appendix, suffering 34 hours earlier from riding a rough horse for the breaker.
The skill and courage of the pilot in the “Drover” was heroic – three landings – two failed attempts – third and last attempt – thank God was successful. He then hedge hopped – dodging storms all the way to the “Curry” and the good doctors. That was the last plane that was able to land at “Dunbar Station” for 6 weeks.
The good doctors did their job also – and informed me many days later that I had about two hours of life on this earth when we landed.
I will forever be grateful to the RFDS. Without their great service that gave me my second chance at life, had the “Drover” not landed, the alternative was Mr. Jack McCrae, manager of “Dunbar” – and his trusty speying knife – a great bloke – who would have tried hard to follow a doctor’s instructions via a peddle wireless!
So thanks to a brilliant pilot – and good doctors – I was able to rejoin society.
Enjoying 44 years of sharing my life with a lovely lady – we produced three lovely girls – who in turn gave us seven enjoyable grandchildren.
Along the way, I enjoyed a few years of rodeo – many years of football – playing two codes and winning eight premierships – also fishing – hunting for venison – golf days run for the RFDS.
We have owned our little house for 50 odd years – haven’t bought an egg for many years – thanks to our 6 chooks – not the same ones of course.
So, it is obvious that I am eternally grateful to the RFDS for giving me that second go at life.
A long history together
Australia is a big place, 7.69 million square kilometres with two thirds of the population living in regional or remote areas. The RFDS delivers health care where mainstream health services are not available, using the latest in aviation, medical and communications technology and a broad-reaching ground-service fleet.
The partnership between Brisbane Airport and the RFDS in Queensland has significantly enabled the RFDS to expand its services over the past 15 years, ensuring that more people benefit from their lifesaving work. Since November 2009, Brisbane Airport has been a Principal Partner of the RFDS (Queensland Section). Aeromedical flights are given top priority, transporting premature babies to the Mater Hospital, children to the Queensland Children's Hospital, and critical patients to hospitals across Brisbane.
Sebastien Krantz, Acting Executive General Manager, Fundraising and Philanthropy, RFDS Queensland Section highlights the critical importance of the partnership with Brisbane Airport, stating
“With demand for our services increasing each year, our partnership with Brisbane Airport Corporation has never been more important in our endeavour to improve health outcomes for those who live, work and travel in the bush. We are incredibly appreciative of our longstanding alliance with BAC and are looking forward to continuing to strengthen the bond between both our organisations and the community we serve.”
The aircraft named Drover will fly as a symbol of this partnership and the shared commitment to ensuring that no one is beyond the reach of medical care.
As part of Brisbane Airport’s Future BNE investment a new Queensland Regional Aeromedical Base is set to be delivered which will connect more Queenslanders to major hospitals and life-saving medical care.
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