{"id":671237,"date":"2026-10-31T22:18:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T22:18:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/671237\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T22:18:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T22:18:14","slug":"broken-hills-beloved-flying-doctor-artist-howard-steer-dies-aged-79","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/671237\/","title":{"rendered":"Broken Hill’s beloved ‘flying doctor artist’ Howard Steer dies aged 79"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has paid tribute to “valued friend” and beloved Broken Hill artist Howard William Steer, who has died aged 79.<\/p>\n

Steer was known as the “flying doctor artist” for his avid support of the RFDS over the years.<\/p>\n

He paid homage to the medical service by including black-suited, winged doctors in many of his paintings.<\/p>\n

His work featured in private collections and galleries across Australia and the world.<\/p>\n

But beyond his artistic legacy, he was a passionate philanthropist and champion of the Silver City in Far West New South Wales.<\/p>\n

His family hope he will be remembered for his generosity.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

All in the Game captures a scene of outback cricket.\u00a0 (Supplied: Howard Steer)<\/p>\n

The flying doctor artist<\/p>\n

Steer, who died on October 20, was born in Broken Hill in 1947 and spent his entire life in the city, finding inspiration in its landscape, community and character.<\/p>\n

He turned to art full-time after he lost the tops of his fingers on his left hand while working at the Broken Hill Civic Centre.<\/p>\n

The response and care he received from the RFDS began a lifelong campaign to raise money for the organisation.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

One of Howard Steer’s paintings still hangs in the RFDS Clive Bishop Medical Centre in Broken Hill.\u00a0 (Supplied: Royal Flying Doctor Service)<\/p>\n

Clyde Thomson, who worked with the RFDS South-Eastern Section for over 40 years, said Steer was a low-profile person.<\/p>\n

“[He] didn’t seek a lot of recognition, but his work did an enormous amount of benefit to the flying doctor service,” Mr Thomson said.<\/p>\n

“He wouldn’t try and promote himself \u2026 but he promoted the causes that he supported.”<\/p>\n

Steer donated many of his works to RFDS charity events, including to the Women’s Auxiliary Fundraisers and the Silver City Bush Treadlers.<\/p>\n

Among the most hot-ticket items were the aircraft propellers he painted.<\/p>\n

“They used to bid up many thousands of dollars to have that propeller painted by Howard Steer,” Mr Thomson said.<\/p>\n

\"Broken<\/p>\n

Howard Steer was 79 when he died. (Supplied: Steer family)<\/p>\n

The RFDS continues to sell his artwork on magnets, postcards and even a few original prints and paintings at the Outback Heritage Experience in Broken Hill.<\/p>\n

“Through his distinctive artwork, he told the story of the flying doctor in a way that was uniquely his own,” the RFDS South-Eastern Section said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“[He helped to] support fundraising efforts, celebrate the people behind our service and connect communities to our mission.<\/p>\n

“Many of his artworks continue to be treasured across our organisation.”<\/p>\n

Carrying on Broken Hill’s artistic legacy<\/p>\n

Steer counted among his good friends and mentors Pro Hart and Hugh Schultz, both well-known Broken Hill artists who were a part of the famous art group Brushmen of the Bush.<\/p>\n

They were a group of five self-taught artists and sculptors from the Silver City who combined their artworks for exhibitions in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Howard Steer’s paintings often told a story about life in the outback. (Supplied: Gavin Schmidt)<\/p>\n

Their art, much like Steer’s, captured the spirit of outback Australia.<\/p>\n

Broken Hill councillor Michael Boland described Steer as “the next generation of Brushmen of the Bush”.<\/p>\n

“Brushmen of the Bush put Broken Hill on the map, [but] people like Howard Steer cemented our reputation as an art centre,” Mr Boland said.<\/p>\n

Steer’s work was known for its whimsy and humour, which had a distinctive narrative style. His paintings told stories of the outback which were often described as cheeky, mischievous and sometimes rude.<\/p>\n

But he used it to his advantage, taking topics men in the outback would rather avoid and turning it into comedy.<\/p>\n

“He’d do a funny poster of, you know, all the men lined up against a wall and the doctor’s coming around to check the prostate to make sure they’re healthy,” Mr Boland said.<\/p>\n

“You’d swing a bit of comedy in there, and the blokes will go and get the checks done.<\/p>\n

“I would say you couldn’t put a number on how many lives Howard’s saved simply through that kind of advocacy.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Howard Steer’s painting The Flying Doctor hung in Sussan Ley’s Parliament House offices.\u00a0 (Supplied: Sussan Ley)<\/p>\n

It was his “story art” which gained him international acclaim.<\/p>\n

One of his paintings has hung in Parliament House in Canberra after he gifted it to former federal Liberal leader Sussan Ley when she was health minister.<\/p>\n

“It hung in my ministerial office and then in every parliamentary office I occupied,” Ms Ley said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“Over the years it became much more than a painting; it was a daily reminder of the people of the Far West, the spirit of Broken Hill, and the extraordinary role of the Flying Doctor in remote Australia.”Saying farewell to a generous spirit<\/p>\n

The RFDS was not the only recipient of Steer’s kindness.<\/p>\n

He gave away 15 to 20 paintings a year to charitable causes, including national charities such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Kidney Health Australia and the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.<\/p>\n

But it was the local clubs and committees which held a special place in his heart.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Howard Steer’s Bush Opera painting hangs in the Broken Hill City Art Gallery. (Supplied: Broken Hill City Art Gallery)<\/p>\n

In an interview with ABC Broken Hill in 2014, Steer said he knew what it was like to need help, which is why he liked to give back to the community.<\/p>\n

“You’ve got to roll up your sleeves and lend a hand,” Steer said.<\/p>\n

His wife, Lynnette Steer, said her husband loved the people of Broken Hill and would want the community to remember him for his generosity.<\/p>\n

“He just loved giving to people; it made him happy,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I’d like to thank all the people that have bought his artwork and supported him over the years.”<\/p>\n

\"Howard<\/p>\n

Howard Steer was known for his generosity. (Supplied: West Darling Arts)<\/p>\n

A private family funeral service was held for Steer in Adelaide.<\/p>\n

Ms Steer said while no memorial was planned, she intended to return to their art gallery in Broken Hill with her husband’s ashes.<\/p>\n

“If anybody wants to come and say goodbye to him in the gallery, they’re welcome,” she said.<\/p>\n

Steer is survived by his wife and their two sons, Andy and Jay, their four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS) has paid tribute to “valued friend” and beloved Broken Hill artist Howard…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671238,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[1484,307,304,305,306,284319,284322,308,93,284320,284317,284316,61,60,13378,104212,284321,284323,284318],"class_list":["post-671237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-artist","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-broken-hill","tag-brushmen-of-the-bush","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-far-west-nsw","tag-howard-steer","tag-howard-william-steer","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-outback","tag-painter","tag-pro-hart","tag-silver-city","tag-story-art"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671237\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}