Australian Inland Mission

The Australian Presbyterian Mission was founded by the Presbyterian Church of Australia to reach those "beyond the farthest fence" with God's word. It is better known as the Australian Inland Mission (AIM). John Flynn was the first superintendent possessing a vision and dedication to see that "hospital and nursing facilities are provided within a hundred miles of every spot in Australia where women and children reside".[1]

From 1912 the Australian Inland Mission established fifteen nursing homes/bush hospitals in remote Australian locations, including some offices/shelters.[2]

In the 1940s the mission operated Mission Station in Cloncurry with Reverend Allan Brand, who covered an area from Twosnville to the Northern Territory to Cape York Peninsula.[3] His truck carried a full first aid kit, which also acted on occasions as an ambulance and a hearse, as well as a mobile library.[3] Additional to conducting religious services at hotel bars when no other venue was available, he would frequently forceps-remove painful teeth of people.[3] Initially based in Alice Springs before Cloncurry,[4][5][6] Brand returned to a Methodist mission in Sydney in 1948.[7]

Following the establishment of the Uniting Church in Australia in 1977, the work of the AIM continued in the Presbyterian Church as the Presbyterian Inland Mission and in the Uniting Church as Frontier Services.[8][9]

The mission's centennial was celebrated in 2012.[10]

References

  1. ^ "Moliagul". The Age. 8 February 2004. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  2. ^ Connolly, Malcolm (2012), Australian Inland mission Hut, Tennant Creek, NT, Heritage Assessment Report, Heritage Advisory Council, retrieved 7 May 2022
  3. ^ a b c "Outback man gets around". Sunday Mail (Brisbane). No. 897. Queensland, Australia. 29 June 1947. p. 5. Retrieved 3 May 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ "Inland incidents". The Methodist. Vol. 55, no. 11. New South Wales, Australia. 23 March 1946. p. 15. Retrieved 4 May 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Inland incidents—No. 2". The Methodist. Vol. 53, no. 32. New South Wales, Australia. 12 August 1944. p. 2. Retrieved 4 May 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Inland incidents. No. 5". The Methodist. Vol. 54, no. 34. New South Wales, Australia. 1 September 1945. p. 6. Retrieved 4 May 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Reverends Allan and Jack BRAND, L.Th". Smith's Weekly. Vol. XXXI, no. 46. New South Wales, Australia. 14 January 1950. p. 15. Retrieved 4 May 2026 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ Australian Inland Mission. (1912–1977), 2008, retrieved 7 May 2022 – via Trove
  9. ^ Presbyterian Inland Mission. Presbyterian Church of Australia. (1977–), 2011, retrieved 7 May 2022 – via Trove
  10. ^ Griffiths, Max (2012), Angels in the outback, Rosenberg, ISBN 978-1-921719-58-5
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