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OUTBACK COMMEMORATIVE
BIKE RIDE
Cloncurry to Dubbo
Saturday June 7th –
“When the dust settles and the
mud dries both Vicki and I will treasure the many memories and experiences we
have had.”
“Thanks a million! Love Dianne”
Click here to check itinerary and points of interest.
Click here for ride photos. Last updated
Click here for a final
word from the Weekend Liberal newspaper of Dubbo.
AUCTION - This great didgeridoo has
been made and donated by Eddie Adams and Gloria Marist.
Eddie has played at events like the
The didgeridoo has been verified as authentic
and has customs clearance to ship overseas as an Aboriginal artwork.
All proceeds to the Royal Flying
Doctors Service.
Auction ends
Postage & Insurance paid.
Gone to the highest
bidder – Thank you to Goulburn Rotary Club.
They intend to auction it again to continue
to raise money for the Royal Flying Doctors Service.
To place a bid, email to Bid
Link
More pictures of the didgeridoo at
Click here
If you would like a CD with over a 1000 photos of this ride for $18
(includes postage & packing) CD Link
We have tried to encourage everyone to donate to the RFDS direct but the
girls have collected about $16000 on the road alone.
Mt Isa
Saturday, 7 June 2003
This year marks the 75th
Anniversary of the first Flying Doctor flight on
Last
year the RFDS fleet of 40 aircraft flew 15 million kilometeres
and attended 185,000 patients, including 22,400 medical evacuations.
The first
flight was from Cloncurry to Julia Creek, in the
“Victory”, a timber and canvas bi-plane built by QANTAS at Longreach.
Rev Dr John
Flynn, the founder of the Australian Inland Mission, had campaigned for many
years to improve living conditions for people living in remote parts of
Australia. He had a vision of
providing a “Mantle of Safety” to ensure they had access to medical
treatment, and to help them overcome their sense of isolation. Rev Dr
Flynn’s work continued for many years after that first flight, and today
the Royal Flying Doctor Service is the world’s largest aero-medical organisation.
THE OUTBACK RIDE
The aim of the ride is to raise funds for
the Royal Flying Doctor Service, and to increase awareness of their 
work.
To
celebrate this anniversary, Dianne Fielding of Goulburn
and
The pair will
be self-sufficient for the duration of the journey - towing bicycle trailers.
They have
chosen a route which takes them through most of the major towns, as well as
detouring off the main roads to travel through some more remote areas and
National Parks.
Cody was assisted by the
Royal Flying Doctor service.
Shown here with Dianne
The two riders will pass through the following towns and places:
Mt Isa, Cloncurry, Julia Creek, McKinlay,
Kyuna, Combo Waterhole Conservation Park (Waltzing Matilda
story) Middleton, Hamilton, Boulia, Springvale, Diamantina National Park, Cork,
Lark Quarry Conservation Park, Winton (Qantas), Bladensburg National
Park, Morella, Longreach, Lochern National
Park, Stonehenge, Jundah, Welford National Park,
Yaraka, Benlidi, Idalia
National Park, Blackall, Tambo, Augathella, Charleville, Wyandra, Cunnamulla, Noorama, Culgoa Flood Plain National Park, Goodooga, Hebel,
Lightning Ridge, Carinda, Macquarie Marshes Nature Reserve, Warren and Dubbo.
After Dubbo the two will travel to Burke and ride along the
Darling River to join up with the regular Silver City Bush Treadlers
Follow the ride here at http://www.users.bigpond.net.au/downunder/
or at http://www.flyingdoctorsride.org.au
for a different view. Feel free
to bookmark these sites.
Though
probably best known for its role in emergency treatment and evacuation, the RFDS
provides a wide range of essential services.
These
include inter-hospital transfers, community nursing, women’s health
programs, mental health services and dentistry.
Regular clinics
are held in isolated areas, covering all aspects of primary and preventative
health care.
The RFDS
provides comprehensive medical chests to people living in remote areas. These
are used in conjunction with the RFDS radio or telephone GP consultation
service.
Traditionally
the RFDS is seen as a service for people living in outback Australia, but
increasing numbers of patients are tourists and people working in or
travelling through isolated areas. In some
areas, up to 40% of evacuations are city people traveling in the outback.
Many
regional communities also depend on the RFDS for health care, particularly with
the current shortages of doctors in rural areas.
Most of these services are provided at no cost to
the user and next time this could be you!
FLYING
DOCTOR
FACTS AND
FIGURES
Click here to check today's itinerary and points of
interest.
Around 80% of Australia
(including Tasmania and its surrounding islands) is now covered by 
the
RFDS, 24 hours per day.
The service operates 40
aircraft out of 23 bases around the country.
On average, The Royal Flying
Doctor Service attends around 540 patients, conducts 24 health care clinics and
156 telehealth consultations per day (Australia
wide).
Their fleet travels an
average of over 45,000 km per day - a yearly total of more than 16 million kilometres!
The cost of purchasing and
equipping an aircraft for RFDS use is over seven million Australian dollars.
A
big thank you to our sponsors -
QANTAS, Rotary, Bicycle Queensland, Bicycle NSW
and Bicycle Victoria; the people of Goulburn, Outback
Queensland and NSW; All Together Creative, Cycle Underground, Land wide
Adventure Rentals, Hot Designs, Country Women’s Association,
Australia.ontheweb.com ; the Fielding family and all our other friends.
Although the RFDS receives some
government support, it relies heavily on the generosity of the public to
continue its life-saving work.
CAN YOU HELP US?
Donations may be sent to:
Outback
Bike
GPO
NSW
2001
Phone
1800 444 788 (Free Call 24 hours)
All donations over $2 are tax-deductible
Celebrating this Special
75th Anniversary
Webmaster:
Something DynamiC