This Day in History: 1880-11-25

The Very Reverend John Flynn, OBE, DD, “Flynn of the Inland” was born at Moliagul, central Victoria on 25 November, 1880. The third child of Thomas and Rosetta, John was raised in Sydney by his mother’s sister after his mother died during childbirth. When he was five, John was reunited with his family at Snake Gully, near Ballarat. Flynn was instrumental in the founding of the Presbyterian Church’s Australian Inland Mission and following a suggestion by Lieutenant Clifford Peel and with a bequest from H.V. McKay he developed an Aerial Medical Service which later became the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Source: Royal Flying Doctor Service