Royal Far West is an Australian charity based in the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

suburb of Manly, concerned with improving access to developmental care for children from rural and remote areas of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. Founded in 1924 by

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

missionary Reverend Stanley Drummond from

Cobar Cobar is a town in Outback New South Wales, Australia, whose economy is based mainly upon base metals and gold mining. The town is by road northwest of the state capital, Sydney. It is at the crossroads of the Kidman Way and Barrier Highwa ...

, 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 Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

is the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

, General The Honourable

Margaret Beazley Margaret Joan Beazley, , (born 23 July 1951) is an Australian Judge, jurist who is the 39th and current governor of New South Wales, serving since 2 May 2019. She was the president of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, the List of the first wo ...

AC QC.

History

The first Far West camp was organised in 1925, taking 58 children and six mothers from towns including Bourke,

Brewarrina Brewarrina (pronounced ''bree-warren-ah''; locally known as "Bre") is a town in north-west New South Wales, Australia on the banks of the Barwon River in Brewarrina Shire. It is east of Bourke and west of Walgett on the Kamilaroi Highway, a ...

and

Wilcannia Wilcannia is a small town located within the Central Darling Shire in north western New South Wales, Australia. Located on the Darling River, the town was the third largest inland port in the country during the river boat era of the mid-19th c ...

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is 26 kilometres south of the Sydney central ...

. The following year the camp was held at Manly for the first time In Manly, the operator of a local

cottage hospital A cottage hospital is a mostly obsolete type of small hospital, most commonly found in the United Kingdom. The original concept was a small rural building having several beds.The Cottage Hospitals 1859–1990, Dr. Meyrick Emrys-Roberts, Tern Publ ...

, 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 Trangie is a town in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The town is on the Mitchell Highway north west of the state capital Sydney. It is part of Narromine Shire local government area. At the , Trangie had a population of 768. Tr ...

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 Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

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 The Government of New South Wales, also known as the NSW Government, is the executive state government of New South Wales, Australia. The government comprises 11 portfolios, led by a ministerial department and supported by several agencies. Th ...

to pay for the construction of airstrips to allow better access to communities. Stanley Drummond met

Nancy Bird Walton Nancy Bird Walton, (16 October 1915 – 13 January 2009) was a pioneering Australian aviator, known as "The Angel of the Outback", and the founder and patron of the Australian Women Pilots' Association. In the 1930s, she became a fully ...

in 1935 and soon hired her to provide the

air ambulance Air medical services are the use of aircraft, including both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters to provide various kinds of urgent medical care, especially prehospital, emergency and critical care to patients during aeromedical evacuation an ...

service on behalf of the scheme. Walton used her own aircraft, and later was appointed Officer

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

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.

NSW Department of Education Royal Far West School

A public school was established at the children's home in Manly in 1938 to cater to children requiring extended stays for ongoing treatment. The school offers education for students ranging from preschool to year 12, focusing on those with behavioral and learning difficulties who need substantial support. Siblings of the client children also attend the school during their stay in Manly. Additionally, the school participates in reading and literacy programs on a statewide level. In December 2018, the school achieved a world first by moving into the new Centre for Country Kids, effectively integrating the school with the charity's specialized pediatric services.

Core Programs

Telecare for Kids

This award-winning program connects country children with specialist assessment, therapy and local capacity-building via videolink from their schools, homes and clinics. Telecare for Kids is growing rapidly, expanding into more schools and homes, with an increased emphasis on building the capacity of parents, teachers and early educators.

Paediatric Developmental Program (PDP)

The PDP is a benevolent multidisciplinary health service for children with complex developmental concerns and their families from rural and remote NSW who cannot access the local services they need. The PDP is a specialist service with expertise in supporting complex families, providing trauma-informed care and family-centred practice. This program is a partnership between NSW Health and Royal Far West.

Windmill

Windmill is Royal Far West's disability service dedicated to children aged 2–12 from rural and remote communities. In addition to intensive early intervention therapy blocks provided in Manly, the program uses Telecare to reach children in their homes and schools.

References

{{Authority control 1924 establishments in Australia Health charities in Australia Organisations based in Australia with royal patronage Medical and health organisations based in New South Wales