John Flynn OBE DD (1880-1951) was a Presbyterian Minister, founder and superintendent of the Australian Inland Mission (AIM). He published a magazine, the Inlander, where he argued the case for the development potential of Northern Australia. Flynn devoted the first issue of the 1915 Inlander to the plight of Aboriginal people and his AIM hospitals were always open to them. Flynn's vision of an aerial medical service, providing medical attention to people in remote areas, was realized in 1928. The following year he was a delegate at the first world conference on aviation medicine in Paris. His National Aerial Medical Service of Australia was changed to the Flying Doctor Service in 1942 and the designation of Royal was added in 1954. Flynn died of cancer in 1951 and his ashes were interred in Alice Springs where the John Flynn Memorial Church was opened in 1956.
