Royal Hotel, Birdsville linked to pedal generators, the others being placed at 4 head stations in far western Queensland and at the Aboriginal Mission at Mornington Island, with base station VJI established at Cloncurry. For the first 18 months, communication was by Morse code, but the system proved enormously popular, and soon revolutionised outback communications. Importantly, Birdsville became reliably connected to the station properties in the Diamantina district, and with the new Aerial Medical Service, established by Flynn in 1928 under the auspices of the AIM, and based at Cloncurry. In 1934, nursing sisters Edna McLean and Amy Bishop of the AIM's Birdsville
Athletics in Australia continues today, with the Stawell Gift, Australia's premier professional foot-race, a highlight of the sporting calendar. In 1890, the first Inter-Colonial championships was held in Sydney, featuring teams from the Australasian colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, and New Zealand. The Australasian Athletics Union of Australasia was formed in 1897 to govern the sport, with combined Australian and New Zealand teams representing at the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games. In 1928, New Zealand withdrew from the Union to form their own national association and the Amateur Athletics Union of Australia became the peak-body for athletics in Australia. The Australasian