It became a key Indigenous Australian community organisation, from which most Aboriginal medical services around the State of New South Wales have stemmed.
[1] Inadequate and overcrowded housing and poor nutrition were causing health problems among Aboriginal people that were rare in the mainstream community, and the issue was compounded by the reluctance of Aboriginal people to access mainstream health services for fear of racism, or because of mistrust or an inability to pay.
[2] The foundation of the AMS was driven by Mum (Shirl) Smith, Dulcie Flower, Ken Brindle and Chicka and Elsa Dixon.
[3] It was set up by Gordon Briscoe, Dr. Fred Hollows, Dr Archie Kalokerinos, Dulcie Flower, and others, who were all concerned with the serious health problems of Aboriginal Australians in Sydney.
Its structure mirrored the Aboriginal Legal Service, with prominent community members acting as field officers and white professionals donating their time.
[1] While the New South Wales Department of Aboriginal Affairs appeared committed to the service at first, the organisation struggled for secure funding during its first five years of operation.
The department regularly delayed its assessment of funding applications, acquittals and payments, forcing the organisation to operate on bank overdrafts and donations from the community.
[2] The AMS, in association with Sol Bellear, Paul Coe, Mum Shirl, and Kaye Edwards, set up a breakfast program for children in a park in Newtown, serving food from a caravan borrowed from the Wayside Chapel.
It was also operating as a teaching practice, employing registrars and providing short-term placements for medical and nursing students from the University of Sydney.