The late Dr John Thompson OAM MBBS C&B KStJ will be remembered as a pioneer of rural medicine and the first ‘Flying Doctor’ in South Australia.
Dr Thompson will be eternally embedded in Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) history for conducting the inaugural health clinic flight from the RFDS Port Augusta Base in 1955.
The talented practitioner and dedicated father of two died on 29 March 2010 at the Quorn Hospital, aged 95.
“His deeds of the past are our footsteps for today and beyond. We respect and honour him for being the man and doctor he was – a true and great gentleman, a mentor, a role model, a pro, a legend,” says John Lynch, Chief Executive Officer for RFDS Central Operations.
Dr Thompson was an only child born in Quorn to Horace Thomas, a builder, carpenter and undertaker, and Myrtle Alice. Years later he married Bonnie, a local girl and had two children Robert and Jenny.
In 1940 Dr Thompson, who had just completed a year’s residency at the Royal Adelaide Hospital after graduating from Adelaide University, joined the only doctor in Port Augusta, Dr Symons.
Dr Thompson enlisted in the Army, but in 1941, after Dr Symons left to work in Adelaide, Dr Thompson was left as the only doctor in Port Augusta and was more or less “ordered” to stay.
Dr Thompson is regarded as having the broadest knowledge of clinical medicine and the greatest surgical skills of any GP at that time. Over the course of his career, he delivered some 4000 babies and performed a wide range of surgeries. He saved many lives with his surgery.
There were no resident specialists in the Iron Triangle at that time which meant Dr Thompson had to manage many road and industrial trauma cases, usually with the help of the hospital matron, Mary Fitzgerald. He kept himself up to date by reading journals and later attending refresher courses and was a great and willing mentor for his future practice partners.
In 1949, the late Dr Ian Furler joined the practice as a partner, and in 1953 they recruited another partner, Dr John Mickan, who remained in the practice for 22 years before returning to Adelaide.
When Dr Furler left to pursue a career in obstetrics and gynaecology in 1955, Dr Robert Cooter and the late Dr John Bampton joined as partners, and this group worked together for the next 16 years.
The four partners each became honorary medical officers of the town's 82-bed Government hospital. They continued practising as the Konanda Medical Clinic in a building on Church Street with purpose-built rooms.
In 1955, the RFDS Base at Port Augusta was established and the four doctors agreed to perform the medical services for the new organisation – at their own cost – as a contribution to the well-being of those in remote areas and those that did not have choice for health care.
The doctors conducted daily routine and emergency phone and radio consultations; eventually, monthly health clinics were conducted at the outposts Andamooka, Oodnadatta and Marree. These clinics, which lasted two days, were conducted on a rotating basis by the four partners – the first being conducted by Dr John Thompson.
They volunteered their medical services to the RFDS for 12 years.
In an interview with Sally Stephenson from the State Library in 2006 Dr Thompson recalled what it was like working for the RFDS in the late 1950s:
“The landing strips were all dirt tracks. Andamooka used to be quite a primitive track. There would be heaps of sand on each side, in the sand hills, but the plane managed them alright.
“It used to be quite a gathering when the doctor came to visit the outback stations. I remember people coming from all around, even if they didn’t need to see the doctor they would come to town to say g’day and catch up”.
The practice during this period was extremely busy, and getting busier.
Eventually, in 1967, the RFDS was in a financial position to employ its own full-time doctor. The doctors were all very proud to have been associated with the Service, and to have played such a vital role in the development of service delivery from the RFDS Port Augusta Base.
Dr Thompson remained in the practice until his retirement in 1990. He gave 50 years of outstanding service to the community, making him one of the longest-practising GPs in South Australia. Dr Thompson was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to medicine and the community.
Dr Thompson was also involved in St John’s Ambulance Service for 50 years, spanning the time of his medical practice in Port Augusta. He was training officer in First Aid for the Commonwealth Railways for 40 years, and a national educator and examiner in First Aid for the interstate railways examinations for 35 years. He received the honour of a Service Medal from the Australian Railways Ambulance Association.
Dr Thompson was a long-standing member of Rotary in Port Augusta and received the highest award – Paul Harris Fellow.
Dr Thompson was the dearly loved husband of the late Bonnie; loving father of Robert and Trish, Jenny and Ian; adored grandfather of William, Lisa, Jane, Richard, Penny, Dan, Felicity and Florian, and great grandfather of Jemma, Jack, Lucy, Patrick, Oliver and Ruby.
