• #137 Camille Overcame Anorexia as an Outback Teenager
    Jun 11 2025

    The stunning images and videos that WA cattle farmer Camille McClymont shares with her Instagram followers each week, perfectly capture the epic landscapes, red dust sunsets and daily farm chores of remote station life. Camille and her husband Jack, along with their young son Lachlan, manage some 16,000 head of cattle over many thousands of hectares - and their days are often spent mustering, checking fences and savoring every second of their time together. But Camille's isolated lifestyle wasn't always this idyllic. As a teenager, facing time away from her family's farm at boarding school and grappling with her brother's illness, she became trapped in a cycle of dieting, depression and body dysmorphia. Like so many other young Australians who - often in secret - battle eating disorders that can quickly overwhelm their lives, Camilla faced a terrifying battle with Anorexia Nervosa.

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    Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us...and we’d love to hear from you! To find immediate resources and help with an eating disorder, head to Support for Eating Disorders and Body Image Issues | Butterfly Foundation You can also check out Camille's Insta stories at Camille McClymont (@camille_monica_) • Instagram photos and videos We'd also like you to tell us what you’re loving (or not so much) about the podcast by completing our quick 5-minute survey here : https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/Podcast-Survey-2025/. Your feedback will help shape future seasons of The Flying Doctor Podcast. As a thank you, you’ll also go in the draw to win an RFDS prize pack filled with merch and other goodies! (Survey closes June 20, 2025). The winner will be contacted via email and/or text on June 21. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    33 mins
  • #136 Having a Ball in Broken Hill!
    Jun 4 2025

    In this very special episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast, we're taking you on a remote rural road trip to the famous outback community of Broken Hill. And we have a Golden Ticket to one of the region's premier events! From Priscilla, Queen of the Desert to Mad Max, the remote red dirt region made world-famous on the silver screen is known as outback Australia's 'city in the desert'. It is also home to the largest RFDS base in Australia - operated by the RFDS's South Eastern Section - and providing medical services across NSW, Victoria, Tasmania, southwest Queensland and Northern SA. As Australia's first ever heritage-listed city, and the longest continuous mining community, the remote far West NSW community of Broken Hill and surrounds is tight-knit, hard-working and resilient. And while the original RFDS base was first established back in 1936, the Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary was founded soon after that - with a mission to raise funds, education and awareness around remote and rural health services and the work of the RFDS...including via its celebrated annual Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary RFDS Ball!

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    Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us...and we’d love to hear from you! Tell us what you’re loving (or not so much) about the podcast by completing our quick 5-minute survey here : https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/Podcast-Survey-2025/. Your feedback will help shape future seasons of The Flying Doctor Podcast. As a thank you, you’ll also go in the draw to win an RFDS prize pack filled with merch and other goodies! (Survey closes June 20, 2025). The winner will be contacted via email and/or text on June 21. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together. And if you're keen to track down the Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary and their world-famous Christmas Puddings, you can find them on Facebook at Royal Flying Doctor Service Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary | Facebook

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    38 mins
  • #135 Remote Rescues & Red Dust Runways. Meet RFDS Pilot Dave Rogers.
    May 28 2025

    When Melbourne-born Dave Rogers first caught the flying bug as a teenager, he wasn't even sure where a pilot's license might take him. But after honing his skills and flight hours as an instructor - and then spending three years flying small aircraft over (and onto!) the most remote and treacherous landscapes of Papua New Guinea - today Dave is a highly respected RFDS Senior Base Pilot at Broken Hill, NSW. But what does it actually take to become an emergency retrieval pilot and what happens when things don't exactly go to plan? On his very first day in Broken Hill, after applying for the RFDS pilot role during Covid, Dave was called to fly out to a devastating fire at the Tibooburra hotel, where a gas tank explosion caused the historic Two Storey Hotel to set alight, injuring four people. But this was just the beginning of Dave's incredible outback adventure...

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    Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    31 mins
  • #134 No Time for Makeup. A Magical Outback Medical Memoir.
    May 21 2025

    From childhood memories of travelling the remote Kimberley landscapes of the 1960's, to arriving in a skirt and heels onto a remote WA airstrip in Kalgoorlie as a freshly minted RFDS Doctor, Dr Elizabeth Green's new memoir is an engaging, time-travelling treat. While Elizabeth was only 'officially' with the RFDS for two and a half years in the last 1980's, her love of medicine and the bush, along with a lifelong romance with her Flying Doc husband, Dr Stephen Langford, has gifted her with a swag full of incredible and often outrageous outback yarns. After working for 35 years with the RFDS Western Ops, as well as in Port Hedland, Stephen also wrote the iconic 2015 book, The Leading Edge: Innovation, technology and people in Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Service. Just like the shadow of the RFDS plane's she would often watch from the window of her many RFDS clinic and retrieval flights, Elizabeth believes the stories and communities of the RFDS have followed her throughout her life.

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    Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. You can find more details and links to Dr Elizabeth Green's new book at No Time for Makeup: The life of a flying doctor and paediatrician - Green, Dr Elizabeth | 9781923011090 | Amazon.com.au | Books There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    49 mins
  • #133 The Wild and Wonderful World of One Tree Island
    May 14 2025

    Many of us have probably dreamed of running away to a deserted island! But what if you actually lived on one, 365 days of the year? Ruby and Heinrich (and their toddler Lucas) are the full-time caretakers of Qld's remote One Tree Island. But as well as dealing with the daily and often extreme 'remote work' challenges of keeping an island - and all its visiting scientists - running smoothly, they are also the official custodians of an RFDS Medical Chest. There are around 3500 RFDS medical chests located all around the country - often on remote outback stations and tiny townships across rural and remote Australia. But for Ruby's baby son Lucas, access to an RFDS medical chest became critically important - on the day that Scarlet Fever came to visit One Tree.

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    Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    33 mins
  • #132 Finding a Rhyme and a Reason for Every Season
    May 7 2025

    Trigger Warning: This episode contains content about suicide. "The black dog follows you...and hangs close on your flying skirts with hungry fangs". So said the ancient Roman poet Horace some 2000 years ago, as he struggled with his own 'inner demons'. Yet even today, despite our growing understanding around the science and prevalence of mental health issues, many rural and remote Australian's still wrestle with the social stigma and inter-generational pressures of THEIR black dogs. And for those country blokes who live and work in isolation and under pressure - including our farmers, miners and truckies - feelings of anxiety, stress, depression and despair can often feel overwhelming. Buckling under the inter-generational expectations of his family's farm, Wes Herring was one of those blokes - and he openly admits he HAS been to hell and back. But he's still here. He's still farming. And these days, Wes is soothing HIS savage beast with a feast of thoughtfully penned and inspiring bush poetry.

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    Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. In an emergency, always call 000. If you or anyone you know needs help, you can call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636 or the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander crisis support line 13YARN. You can also reach out anytime to your local RFDS health clinic or connect with others via the RFDS mental health support program We've Got Your Back | Facebook To buy Wes's new book, you can text or call him on 0408 218 019. There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    32 mins
  • #131 Sean Survived a Shark Attack. Now he's Snowboarding for Australia
    Apr 30 2025

    When Sean Pollard felt something 'bump' his leg while surfing off the Esperance coastline back in 2014, he had no idea what had hit him. Until the 3.5 meter Great White Shark that was attacking him, came back for another bite. Seconds later, having lost an arm and his other hand, Sean realised his only chance of survival was to swim some 100 meters back to the shore...to his waiting girlfriend (and now wife) Claire. All the while, that same shark continued circling and waited for him to bleed out. Incredibly, Sean not only survived that terrifying ordeal - but he's since thrived. After marrying the love of his life and having a beautiful baby daughter together, Sean is now an international para-Snowboarding champion, with his sights firmly set on the 2026 Winter Olympics.


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    Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us. You can follow more of Sean's remarkable story and Snowboarding updates via his website at Sean Pollard There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    43 mins
  • #130 A Rare Tumour was Strangling Simon's Spine
    Apr 23 2025

    Simon Green isn't the first country bloke to put off going to the Doctor. But when an extremely rare and sinister tumour began snaking its way down his spine, time was not on the father of three's side. In less than four weeks, his symptoms morphed from mild discomfort to nerve tingling to full-blown paralysis of his lower body. With Simon's condition quickly deteriorating, his Doctors arranged an emergency RFDS evacuation to Newcastle. Later, specialists from around the world would consult on the best way to salvage his spinal cord and save Simon's life - after diagnosing him with a cancer of the Central Nervous System that accounts for less than 2% of all brain and other CNS tumors.

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    Thanks so much for listening to this episode of the Flying Doctor Podcast. It is lovely to have you along on the journey with us.There has been some wonderful feedback from listeners about our podcast and the incredible people we have interviewed. Word of mouth is always the best promotion for a podcast – so if you enjoy this podcast, or a specific story, please share with family and friends. Reviews and ratings help our podcast to be found by others, so if you can take the time to do that it would be appreciated. You can also send feedback, questions or comments through to podcast@rfds.org.au. We'd also love you to become part of the Flying Doctor Podcast Facebook group, where passionate listeners and incredible outback communities come together.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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    24 mins