Alice Springs Resort
History
Royal Flying Doctor Service
School of the Air
Overland Telegraph Marker
Alice Springs is a vibrant town that started life in the 1870's as a repeater station for the overland telegraph line that ran the length of Australia and onto Europe.
Smack bang in the middle of a huge sparsely populated continent, its isolation inspired the establishment of such legendary Australian institutes as the Royal Flying Doctor Service (an airborne medical service to remote bush communities) and the School of the Air, which educates children on remote cattle stations via two-way radio.
The School of the Air
The School of the Air was set up in 1951 in Alice Springs with the intention to provide educational services to children who lived on 'the land'. It was the first of its kind in Australia, however now there are a number of schools around the country.
The Alice Springs School of the Air today gives over 140 children spread over a 1 million square km's of Central Australia, access to education via the airwaves.
The Royal Flying Doctors
On May 5th 1928 in Alice Springs, with the help of Alf Traeger's pedal radio and advice from Australia's most famous pioneer aviators Hudson Fysy, the Reverand John Flynn took to the air to provide medical help for sick and injured outback pioneers. And so began The Royal Flying Doctor's.
The service was and still is a not-for-profit organisation which provides emergency and primary health care services to people who live, work and travel in regional Australia.
In 1934 the Presbyterian Church handed over the service to a new organisation, the Australian Aerial Medical Service. It was renamed in 1942 to the Flying Doctors Service and then in 1955 the Queen granted the use of the Royal prefix.
The service now operates from 20 bases around Australia, operating 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The Overland Telegraph Station
The Alice Springs Telegraph Station Historical Reserve marks the original site of the first European settlement in Alice Springs. Established in 1872 to relay messages between Darwin and Adelaide, it is the best preserved of the twelve stations along the Overland Telegraph Line.
The site was first recorded by surveyor William Mills in 1871, while in search of a suitable route for the Overland Telegraph Line through the MacDonnell Ranges. Construction of the Telegraph Station began in November 1871. The Telegraph Station operated for 60 years, until 1832 after which time the buildings served as a school for Aboriginal children. During WWII parts of the station were used by the Army. The Station was protected as a Historical Reserve in 1963.
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