The Australian Inland Mission (AIM) was established in 1912 by Rev. John Flynn. Having researched the needs of both Aboriginal and European inhabitants of the inland of Australia, on behalf of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, he was appointed Superintendent of the AIM and tasked with bringing appropriate medical and spiritual services to the outback.
In 1977 the AIM became known as Frontier Services. Between them, the first nursing sisters and patrol padres picked up the creation threads of Flynn’s ‘mantle of safety’. A complex invisible fabric of medical, spiritual, social, cultural and economic service provision, the ‘mantle’ has been stitched together with compassion, empathy, determination, dedication, guts and the sheer goodwill of all the people who have ever worked for or supported the work of the Australian Inland Mission/Frontier Services.
In recognition of their centenary in 2012, Penguin is delighted to contribute the royalties from Bush Nurses to Frontier Services.