Communication
In the early 1900s most city dwellers viewed the Australian Outback with a sense of romanticism, in part fuelled by tales of the goldrush and promises of fortunes from the land. The reality was quite different - for every successful adventurer striking it rich a hundred more struggled to survive.
For many the isolation and loneliness could cause terrible depression and in the case of sudden sicknesses or serious accidents the brutal fact was that death was often the result.
Communication was virtually impossible. Basic telephone and telegraph links existed only near larger towns, radio communication was practically unknown and neighbours could be hundreds of miles away.
"Without a wireless transmitting station at every isolated homestead, an Aerial Ambulance Service would be 75% futile."
JOHN FLYNN
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One of the greatest problems when the Service first started was the lack of radio communications between the base at Cloncurry and outstations. The Flying Doctor service relied on telephone links between towns and settlements and on people physically travelling long distances for help.
What was needed at the outstations, which could include cattle or sheep stations - huge grazing properties, small settlements, missions and police stations was a portable, cheap and reliable two-way radio, with a range of 500 kms. It also needed to be simple enough to be operated by an untrained person and have its own power source.
This was a tall order in those days when radio was still in its infancy.
Flynn had developed an interest in the emerging field of wireless around 1920 and he saw the potential for wireless to provide outback communication. The early technology, however, was cumbersome, complex, expensive and unreliable - wholly unsuitable for the tough inland conditions Flynn was so familiar with.
Flynn and some other enthusiasts began to build more portable, robust equipment and took several wireless sets into the outback to experiment. Voice communications proved impossible due to the low power levels available, so Morse code was used.
In 1925 John Flynn met Alf Traeger, an Adelaide engineer, and soon Traeger was employed as a radio expert and electrician by the Australian Inland Mission (AIM). Within a few months the pair had established Morse code communications across a distance of 140 kilometres.
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Traeger next set his mind to the problem of power generation for wireless transceivers. Previous experience with generators, and his engineering qualifications, led him to invent a hand-cranked generator, a cheap and durable solution which provided sufficient power, but required two operators - one for the generator, and another for the radio itself.
A spectacular demonstration of the new system was staged at Cloncurry, in far western Queensland for Melbourne Cup Day 1927. The excitement and possibilities for these new inventions were obviously enormous. After various experiments, Traeger found that it was too dificult for an operator to use one hand to turn the handle while the other hand was used to operate the Morse key. Traeger overcame the problem by equipping the generator with pedals and so the famous pedal wireless was created.
Flynn, and Australia, had the solution to the communication problems of the Outback.
The Cloncurry Base radio station became operative in 1929 and the first of the outstations were equipped with Traeger pedal transceivers that year.
When the first pedal radios were distributed, the wives and daughters on stations who operated them had to learn Morse Code. The first major development in the manufacture of the pedal sets was the introduction of a keyboard transmitter which when the required key was pressed, sent out the correct Morse signal.
In the mid 1930s voice communication made the task even easier and the radio sets could be operated with car batteries replacing the need for pedal power generation.
The advent of Alf Traeger's Pedal Radio in the late 1920s and early 1930s brought a significant change to life in remote places. This change was more far reaching than providing help in emergency medical situations - it also helped reduce the isolation and loneliness by enabling people who lived hundreds of kilometres apart to speak with each other. People were still physically isolated from each other but the loneliness for many was eased as help and friendship was now only a call away.
Women took on the role of Radio Operator on the stations and quickly developed a bush community over the air. In time the "Galah Session" developed which allowed a chat among neighbours who could be hundreds of kilometres away. This Session was named after the noisy, chattering, grey and pink native parrot. The Very Rev Fred McKay who succeeded John Flynn as Superintendent of the Australian Inland Mission said of Traeger:
"He created a social revolution. Human relations were transformed. In a very real way he made Outback Australia."
For many years the RFDS was the key communication point for people with Flying Doctor radios, both fixed in homes and portable in vehicles.
In the 1970s the Service faced a major re-equipment program with the introduction of the single sideband mode of transmission. These new sets were more reliable and efficient and less subject to static interference.
With the development of telecommunication systems, the telephone is increasingly taking the place of radio communication and there is a gradual decline in this area of the Flying Doctor service.
Whereas a few years ago, all calls for medical assistance were received by radio, today this represents only about 2% of all such calls.
Despite this decline, communications continues to be the vital link between a patient requiring medical assistance and the RFDS.
With the onset of satellite technology which now offers satellite telephones both for vehicles, and in the near future, hand held telephones, it will have an even greater effect on the decline in HF radio usage. There is still the need to protect the small number of people who must by circumstance rely on our HF radio network - small communities who cannot connect to the standard telephone, mobile users including exploration camps, Aboriginal outstations, tourists and as a backup to the standard telephone in remote areas.
When an emergency call is received by a Flying Doctor Communications Officer, they can be in contact with a doctor, nurse and pilot within 30 seconds and an aircraft can be airborne within 45 minutes. Today people are still isolated but with the RFDS network of bases across Australia, no-one is more than two hours away from medical help.
The famous "School of the Air" which began in 1951 in Alice Springs has until recent years utilised the Flying Doctor Radio network to link children and their teachers and conduct a program of education which includes all the usual subjects taught in city primary schools. With improvements in technology there is now no need to use the RFDS radio network; telephones and the internet have become the methods of communication. The organisation was also re-named in the mid 1990's to become The School of Distance Education. They are still permitted however to use the more romantic name of "School of the Air".
High frequency radios are still recommended for people travelling in remote areas. When tourists and 4WD enthusiasts are planning outback trips they should contact a Flying Doctor Base to ensure they are equipped with the appropriate communications equipment and information.