Twenty-five antique aircrafts made a high-flying impression on the Moree community when they landed in town on Wednesday as part of the Royal Flying Doctor Service’s (RFDS) 90th anniversary air pilgrimage.
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About 1,000 people flocked to Moree airport on Wednesday afternoon to get up close and personal with the Antique Aeroplane Association of Australia planes during their stopover in town.
A further 50 people braved the wind chill on Thursday morning to farewell the planes as they departed Moree Airport, bound for Queensland.
Moree was the second stop on the nine-day pilgrimage, which began in Dubbo on May 9.
From Moree, the pilgrimage was headed north to Roma, followed by Charleville, Longreach, Winton, Cloncurry, Julia Creek and finishing in Mount Isa on May 17.
RFDS events and PR manager Melissa Perkins said the entourage of 65 were overwhelmed by the reception they received in Moree
“The welcome we received in Moree was just fantastic,” she said.
“I can’t thank the community and council enough for making us feel extremely welcome. A big thank you from us all from the Antique Aeroplanes and Flying Doctors, it’s greatly appreciated.”
The journey covers the magnificent rural landscapes of NSW and QLD and will include a re-enactment of the first flight of the Flying Doctors from Cloncurry to Julia Creek.
Ms Perkins said Moree was chosen as one of the stops as it is one of the areas that the RFDS covers.
“We tried to cover the areas that we service – Royal Flying Doctors does cover quite a large area, including Moree and surrounds,” she said.
“We cover all over rural NSW and Queensland.”
The air pilgrimage marks 90 years of service to the community and is a way of thanking the amazing volunteers, committees and community fundraisers that have supported the efforts of the Royal Flying Doctor Service over the years.
Ms Perkins said she couldn’t believe all the stories she heard from Moree people as she showed them through the RFDS plane.
“It was amazing; so many people have actually been in one of our planes unfortunately,” she said.
“It makes it very real when you hear these stories.
“But it’s the people that we serve.”