G'day ,

I first saw David Bradley in a documentary 'The Flying Vet' in 1984 when I was just 12, his and Susan's story inspired me to 'head North' as soon as I left school - little did I know it would be to Carlton Hill, the station they managed.

So I was sad to hear the news of David’s passing last week… he led a remarkable life, and just about everyone who crossed paths with him has a story - whether it was working alongside him or seeing the care he gave their animals. He’ll be missed.

Nick Bradley shared this tribute to his Dad:

It is with great sadness that my brother, Richard, and I share the news that our father, David Stanley Bradley, has passed away. He was 80.

Born in 1946, Dad lived a life that was, by any measure, extraordinary. He was a veterinarian of rare talent and tireless dedication, and together with our mother, Susan, his wife of 35 years, he built a practice in Australia's remote north and became known as the original 'Flying Vet', piloting his own plane across the vast distances of the Kimberley, Northern Territory and parts of western Queensland to service the cattle stations and their herds.

In doing so, he became one of the driving forces behind the Australian Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign (BTEC), a landmark effort that transformed the northern cattle industry. Most of his more than 15,000 hours at the controls of his Cessna 172s and his beloved Mooney were logged in the service of that work.

He and Mum later became station owners themselves, running Carlton Hill and Ivanhoe, and from that base Dad became a trail-blazer in the live-export trade between northern Australia and Indonesia, setting up Carlton Beef to help pioneer an industry that today exports more than 700,000 cattle annually.

Along the way he logged more than 5,000 hours in R22 helicopters, most of it mustering his own herd.

In the years that followed, Dad made his home in Selsey, England, lending his livestock expertise to the CJD and Foot and Mouth outbreaks of the 1990’s, and then into small animal practice where he became a cherished part of the community. The pet-loving families of that corner of West Sussex entrusted him with their dogs, cats, hedgehogs and companions of every kind, and I know he will be missed there every bit as much as he is here.

Beyond his work, Dad was an adventurer in the truest sense. He sailed around the world, chasing horizons with the same quiet determination he brought to everything else.

But more than any of this, he was a wonderful father. A quiet man, but thoughtful and engaging, he was kind, gentle, charming, and deeply erudite; the sort of person whose company you never tired of, endlessly curious and generous with his time and wisdom. Richard and I were lucky beyond measure to have him, as was his sister Judy Crawford, who cherished him always.

He passed away at home in Wangaratta. He leaves behind a family who adored him, a legacy carved into the landscape of northern Australia and the lanes of Selsey, and memories that will sustain us for the rest of our lives.

Vale, Dad. Fair winds and following seas.

DAVID BRADLEY: THE FLYING VET DOCO, PICS, TRIBUTES & STORIES

Hooroo for now,

Simon

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