Royal Far West Children's Health Scheme
Royal Far West is an Australian charity based in the Sydney suburb of Manly, concerned with improving access to developmental care for children from rural and remote areas of New South Wales. Founded in 1924 by Methodist missionary Reverend Stanley Drummond from Cobar, today Royal Far West works in partnership with families, schools, healthcare providers, local government and community groups, offering health, education and disability services for country children and their families at its Centre for Country Kids in Manly, as well as virtually via Telecare and in local rural and remote communities. Royal Far West's Centre for Country Kids opened in December 2018.
Royal Far West's Patron is the Governor of New South Wales, General The Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC.
History
The first Far West camp was organised in 1925, taking 58 children and six mothers from towns including Bourke, Brewarrina and Wilcannia to Cronulla. The following year the camp was held at Manly for the first time In Manly, the operator of a local cottage hospital, Dr George Moncrieff Barron, volunteered his services free of charge, and would continue to do so until his death. Land would later be purchased in Wentworth Street, allowing the Drummond Far West Children's Home to be built. The original facility provided 80 beds.An idea conceived by a doctor from the remote NSW town of Trangie was adopted by Far West in 1931 which saw it operating mobile baby clinics staffed by nurses out of converted railway carriages along railway lines in the west of the state. By 1954, four carriages had been converted and were the only of their type in the world. The Far West Scheme also developed an aerial transport service in the 1930s and successfully lobbied the New South Wales Government to pay for the construction of airstrips to allow better access to communities. Stanley Drummond met Nancy Bird Walton in 1935 and soon hired her to provide the air ambulance service on behalf of the scheme. Walton used her own aircraft, and later was appointed Officer Order of the British Empire in honour of her dedication to this service in 1966. The prefix Royal was granted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1970.
Reverend Stanley Drummond died in 1943 and was succeeded by his brother, Norman Drummond, as chairman. He remained in the role until his death in 1983.