Royal Flying Doctor pilot and nurse find love!
It was more than a flight of fancy for these Royal Flying Doctor lovebirds
When Royal Flying Doctor Service pilot James Williams first laid eyes on the new girl on the block, nursing recruit Justine Powell, it was her glorious smile and sweet English accent that lit up his life... and his heart!
For Justine, it was the man in uniform with the cheeky sense of humour that caught her eye.
It was that moment, 17 years ago, which they will never forget. There and then, in Queensland’s outback, love was well and truly in the air.
“He was so dashing! We were great friends for years – we had so much in common,” Justine, now 48, recalls.
That was 2001, and little did Justine know then that it’d take an entire decade before James, who’s now 57, found the courage to declare his undying love.
“What strikes me most about her is how caring she is to friends, family, the hundreds of patients... to everyone,” he tells Woman’s Day. “She has a 24-carat heart of gold.”
Although their love was everlasting, it was a slow burner for the pretty nurse and her perfect pilot. They were good mates for years before things took off and they began dating in 2011.
And it was their mutual love for aviation and doing good that brought them together. For Justine, a fascination with flying is in her blood as both her English parents were in the Royal Air Force.
“I was actually born in Adelaide in 1970,” she explains. “My dad was deployed here in 1968 to work with the Australian RAAF. I returned in 1989 on a backpacking trip and visited the Flying Doctors in Alice Springs, that’s when I found my calling!”
Justine returned to the UK where she completed her nursing degree, but before long was offered a permanent role with the Royal Flying Doctors Service Queensland.
For almost 20 years, Justine has helped deliver more than 200 babies in remote communities across Queensland.
In 2015, James – who had previously been married and has two grown-up daughters – finally popped the question.
“It came out of nowhere,” Justine reveals of the proposal. “James just said, ‘How about we buy you a ring?’ We married in 2016 and have a glorious life.”
Together, they embrace every moment of happiness and hardship outback life has to offer, but admit there is one secret to their love for life.
It’s been the friends they’ve made along the way that have brought them joy – and that’s the biggest reward of all.
“There ain’t no folk like rural folk,” says James. “They take nothing for granted – it’s why we love our work, knowing we can reach so many people who need our help.”
Adds Justine, “After a long day, sitting in the cockpit homeward bound, it’s when the moonlight hits the edge of the clouds that we’re reminded just how lucky we are.”
‘James just said, “How about we buy you a ring?”’