When Member for Barwon Roy Butler MP heard about our Lighting the Way Flare Tour, not only did he offer a message of support for our legacy in NSW, but he also offered his time, a motorbike and three days on the road advocating for remote and regional communities.
Lighting The Way
This year, the Royal Flying Doctor Service South Eastern Section turns 90 years old, marking nine decades of delivering essential medical care to the people of regional, rural and remote NSW. As part of the celebration of this milestone, we launched the Lighting the Way Flare Tour; not just to celebrate where we've come from, but to make the case for where we need to go. Looking toward the future is equally as important, because after 90 years, the need for RFDS services hasn't diminished, but grown, as we continue to innovate and respond to the needs of the communities we serve.
The Flare Tour has seen three symbolic flares travel across the state; a nod to the airstrip flares that guide our pilots in an emergency, carrying with them the same forward-looking spirit that has driven this organisation for nine decades.
The tour has already passed through communities within our footprint and beyond - Bega, Lightning Ridge, Gilgandra, Port Stephens, Pooncarie and Packsaddle, to name a few, and will continue to see the flares make their journeys toward Broken Hill in time for our 90th anniversary event on 20 May.
Enter: Roy’s Ride
When Member for Barwon, Roy Butler, heard about the Flare Tour, he wanted to take it to the next level – in the most Roy Butler way possible. As the Member for the Barwon Electorate, where around half of all our services are delivered, Roy has long been a champion for the communities that depend on RFDS services. Following our event at NSW Parliament in March, Roy and his team set to work in planning his own three-day leg of the relay: a 1,300-kilometre motorcycle ride from our Bankstown base to Broken Hill, carrying the flare through some of the communities he represents and spreading the message of support for the Flying Doctor.
Departing on Wednesday 29 May 2026, Roy rode a motorbike wrapped to look like an RFDS aircraft to tow a trailer he invited communities to sign with messages of support along the way.
In convoy, Roy was joined by a support vehicle as well as our Mobile Education Unit (MEU), a life-size aircraft fuselage, to give communities along the way a hands-on look at what the Flying Doctor looks like up close, as it made its way to Broken Hill for AgFair.
The Journey
Day One: Bankstown to Dubbo
The ride kicked off on the tarmac at Bankstown. Despite the learning curve of towing a brand-new trailer on an open highway, the convoy arrived in Dubbo to a warm welcome from base staff, volunteers, and local media before Roy uncapped the markers for the first time – inviting the crowd to sign the trailer in what would become a tradition at every stop.
Day Two: Dubbo to Cobar via Warren, Byrock and Bourke
The longest day took the convoy through four communities. In Warren, our team welcomed Roy at the RFDS Medical Services clinic. At Byrock, the Mulga Creek Hotel, whose owners have installed parking meters as a grassroots RFDS fundraiser, made for one of the trip's memorable stops. Roy, of course, paid his parking. Bourke brought one of the most enthusiastic welcomes of the journey, with the community turning out in force to add their names to the trailer. In Cobar, our Mental Health team joined Roy at the local park, where children explored the MEU with excitement.
Day Three: Cobar to Broken Hill via Wilcannia and Emmdale
In Wilcannia, local council hosted a community event, with a few RFDS staff in attendance to welcome Roy and acknowledge his ongoing advocacy. The final rest stop was Emmdale Roadhouse, where owner Virginia, a medical chest custodian and local airstrip contact, shared what the RFDS means to her community. On Friday afternoon, Roy rolled his motorbike into the RFDS tent at AgFair, where our CEO Greg Sam and RFDSSE staff were waiting to welcome him home.
By the time Roy rolled into Broken Hill, the trailer was covered in signatures from Warren to Wilcannia, and Byrock to Bourke. Over three days and 1,300 kilometres, Roy's Ride raised over $3,600 and connected with community members across outback and regional NSW.
After 90 years, it's clear the spirit that built this organisation is very much alive in the communities who came out to sign a trailer; in the staff who showed up at each stop; in the advocates who give their time, their voice (and apparently, their motorbike) to make sure we keep flying for the next 90 years.
