The health status of rural people still lags behind that of urban dwellers, and Aboriginal children have an equivalent health status to that of non-Aborigines 40 years ago. Yet, the shortage of country doctors is nearly as acute today as it was 100 years ago. Past 'solutions' to these problems are replete with mistakes, misjudgements, false messiahs and transient fashions. The failure to know about the rural past and to learn from it has resulted in a 20-year cycle of rediscovery. The most efficient way to solve future rural health problems is to have a scholarly appreciation of rural history and build on what we already know but haven't worked out how to apply.