It takes something special to be a bush nurse working in rural and remote Australia.

These remarkable women patch people up and keep them alive while waiting for the doctor to arrive. They drive the ambulances, operate the clinics and deliver the babies.

They are on call around the clock and there are no days off. They often make do with whatever is at hand while working in some of the most isolated places on the planet. Be they devastating family tragedies, close scrapes with bushfires or encounters with true larrikins of the outback, some stories will make your hair stand on end, others will make you laugh and some will make your cry.

With tales from Birdsville to Bedourie, Oodnadatta to Uluru, you'll be amazed at the courage and resourcefulness of these nurses who have been the backbone of medical practice in remote Australia for more than a hundred years.

'Full of battle tales, with all their comedy, farce and sadness.' Weekend Australian