Southern Downs couple bring LifeFlight rescue helicopter services to rural community

Goomburra on the Southern Downs is a notoriously tough area for emergency services to navigate, with the closest major hospital more than an hour away by road. Thanks to a selfless act, urgent medical care is now only a short flight away.

LifeFlight Toowoomba Base lead Scott Nicholls and Goomburra Valley Campground owner Brad Badgery at the campground's newly established helicopter pad.

A selfless act by a Southern Downs couple and business owners has allowed the region access to urgent medical care.

The freshly built helipad at Goomburra Valley Campground is the result of years of community fundraising by the campgrounds owners Teresa and Brad Badgery.

News Corp spoke to Mrs Badgery in November 2023 about their plan to have a helipad built on the property to allow RACQ LifeFlight Toowoomba’s helicopter a safe and easy place to land when performing rescues in the area.

Thanks to the success of the Allora Butcher’s weekly meat raffle with guests at the campground, the couple were able to raise more than $30,000 for the Toowoomba LifeFlight base.

The charity organisation is near and dear to the Badgery’s hearts after Mr Badgery suffered a nasty fall in a remote area almost a decade ago, that required him to be flown to the closest major hospital.

Toowoomba LifeFlight's helicopter had its first land on the newly established helipad at Goomburra Valley Campground over the Easter long weekend.

“Anyone who lives in rural and regional areas understands the need for access to a medical helicopter service,” Mr Badgery said.

“This is our little piece of paradise and now people enjoying it, can have total peace-of-mind that they have full access to the very best aeromedical care around.”

Within days of the helipad’s construction at Goomburra, the Toowoomba-base LifeFlight helicopter performed its first landing after a teenage camper suffered a nasty fall and broke her arm.

RACQ LifeFlight Toowoomba-base lead Scott Nicholls was in awe of the Badgery’s selfless act.

“The Goomburra area, where the campgrounds are located, can be over a two-hour drive to Brisbane hospitals and a one and half-hour drive to Toowoomba Hospital,” Mr Nicholls said.

“We have had some missions where it has been difficult to find a suitable landing area close to the patient due to limited suitable sites or wet conditions, making it difficult to safely land and shut down.

“After a lot of rain, it can be impossible to land at some locations so having a prepared and known area to land will save valuable time and be an asset for the emergency services and the campers around that area.”

The remaining funds have been used by LifeFlight Toowoomba base to purchase safety and aeromedical equipment.

Visitors and campers in and around the Goomburra area can now rest assured there’s easy access to rescue helicopter services if needed.