Six decades of Christmas puddings for Broken Hill's Royal Flying Doctor Service

For 63 years the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary has been using the same recipe to bake their Christmas puddings.

"Why on earth would we change it?" pudding convener Carol Holden said, who is also the president of the auxiliary.

The only things that have changed in six decades are the puddings soaring popularity and the venue.

The first 75 puddings were made in an auxiliary member's home.

Now the dedicated team of volunteers spend two weeks in October to bake around 2000 in a hall provided by local mining company Perilya.

"It's a bit up on last year," Mrs Holden said.

"They are so popular as people know they are good but also they are supporting the (Royal) Flying Doctor at the same time because all of our money goes to them."

Since 1989, the auxiliary has raised $1,841,957 through pudding sales and an annual ball, which has gone towards the RFDS south eastern section.

"They give us a wish list every year and we say where it is spent," she said.

This year the auxiliary donated $90,000, which went towards a wellness centre to help with mental health.

Last year they donated another $90,000, which was spent on two Doctor in a Box units with funding also going towards the new hangar.

Doctor in a Box is a new telehealth device that enables more detailed consultations in rural and remote locations.

Supported by a mobile satellite dish where required, the Doctor in a Box gives remote diagnosis with a range of cameras and devices to support more detailed and earlier diagnosis, leading to improved healthcare outcomes

So an emergency doctor may use this when in a remote location seeing a patient, to send information about a patient to a specialist to assist with diagnosis.

"The Doctor in a Box sits on the wall at the outback clinics and records all your data when you come in," Mrs Holden said.

Royal Flying Doctor Service's marketing and fundraising general manager, Andy Moore said the Broken Hill Women's Auxiliary were one of the RFDS's longest standing supporters, with a contribution stretching back nearly 70 years.

"Their annual pudding bake is truly an incredible feat, a lot of hard work and effort goes into those puddings, and every single pudding sold is appreciated greatly by the service," Mr Moore said.