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The School of the Air

‘There,’ Rhonda said with a smile, snipping the wire. She’d completed the fence repairs for her family’s cattle station just in time for dinner. As she swung into Midnight’s saddle, an unfamiliar bird landed on the fencepost. I need a field guide for bird identification, she thought, adding that to her mental ‘Books I Need’ list. By now Rhonda was used to never seeing other kids, but she still wished she had a library nearby.

On her way back into the house, she glanced up at the sound of a small aeroplane’s whine.

‘Mum,’ she shouted, removing her dusty boots, ‘Dad’s home!’

Her mother’s smile told Rhonda that she’d also heard Dad’s plane landing in the far field. ‘He’ll be hungry, so let’s get dinner ready,’ Mum responded, adding, ‘Did you start your new lesson?’

Rhonda moaned as she got to work setting the table. ‘I sent back my assignment to Mrs Spencer last week, so she probably just got it.’ Rhonda took classes by correspondence, and her teacher, Mrs Spencer, usually dragged her feet on Rhonda’s school lessons. The latest lesson—something about electricity—was especially confusing. Rhonda didn’t understand it, and if she wrote a letter to Mrs Spencer asking for help, she might not hear back for a month. Rhonda whined, ‘Why do I need to learn this when we don’t even have electricity?’

‘In a few years,’ Mum said, ‘by 1960 at the latest, they’ll run wires all the way out here. Besides, our radio runs on electricity, doesn’t it?’

‘Sort of?’ Like many South Australian cattle stations, for communication with the outside world, they relied on a two-way radio that was powered by bicycle pedals. Pedalling generated electricity to operate the radio. Whenever calls about medical emergencies came in, Dad would hop into his plane and pick up Dr Cleary, one of the ‘Flying Doctors’ who reached patients in rural areas by plane. Together, Dad and Dr Cleary would fly to the rescue.

Just then, Dad strode into the kitchen. He kissed Mum, then wrapped one arm around Mum and the other around Rhonda, announcing with satisfaction, ‘It’s good to be home.’

After they sat down to dinner, Dad turned to Rhonda and said, ‘I have big news for you.’

Rhonda stopped eating and looked up with interest.

‘You’re to attend Australia’s new School of the Air,’ Dad told her.

‘And learn to fly?’ Rhonda asked eagerly.

Dad chuckled. ‘I’ll teach you flying soon enough,’ he answered. ‘But this is a school of the airwaves—a radio school.’

Rhonda tilted her head and protested, ‘I already know how to operate the radio.’

‘Yes,’ Dad agreed, ‘and now, you’ll use it to talk with your schoolteacher.’

Rhonda stared. ‘Talk to Mrs Spencer?’

‘No, a different teacher who will be teaching students scattered around the outback of South Australia. She’ll teach lessons over the radio.’

‘I can ask her questions?’

‘You can ask questions,’ Dad said, grinning, ‘and she’ll answer. And, you can talk with other students.’

Imagine, learning by radio, with other kids! Rhonda felt suddenly shy about all those strangers. ‘Wait,’ she said, worried, ‘does this mean staying inside all day?’

‘No, because this school is for cattle families. Everyone has chores, so you’ll just do radio lessons an hour per day.’

A fresh hope buzzed in Rhonda’s brain. ‘Dad,’ she asked, ‘do you think it’s possible this school might have . . .’

‘A library?’ Dad’s eyes twinkled. ‘Yes, they promised me they would, and they’ll lend books to students.’

Rhonda felt a grin spreading across her face. ‘When do we start?’