Flock House days recalled

Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt (left) presents former Milton resident Vincent MacManus with a slice of cake from the Flock House Training Centre centennial celebrations. Failing health prevented Mr MacManus, a former trainee, from attending and he died just days after recording an oral history of his experiences there.

Vincent MacManus (92) died on December 15 and failing health prevented him from attending the centennial celebrations at McKelvie Homestead, formerly known as Flock House in the central North Island.

But that did not stop Flock House staff and Mr MacManus recording his experiences of his times there. His daughter, Eunice, said her father, frustrated because he could not attend the centennial celebrations, held at Bulls on December 6, wrote to staff about his experiences at the centre and expressed his wish to become part of its oral history project.

But Mr MacManus still got a taste of the centennial, courtesy of Invercargill Mayor Tim Shadbolt, a guest at the celebrations. Three days after the event, he visited Mr MacManus and presented him with a large slice of the centennial cake.

Soon afterwards, he was contacted by staff who wanted to record his story of his times there.

Ms MacManus said it was a special time for her father, who enjoyed recounting his experiences. He died just days later.

In a letter to staff, Mr MacManus said he was among the first group of New Zealand young men to undergo free agricultural training there in 1932. The centre placed him on farms at Wanaka, Barnego and Waikaka.

Flock House general manager, in a letter to Mr MacManus, said his memories of his experiences there were "awesome".

"You made all of us at Flock House very happy to receive your news. You are the oldest old boy of Flock House I have communicated with."

Flock House was built for Lyn McKelvie, an early settler of Bulls, in 1908. The New Zealand Sheep Owners Association bought the property known as McKelvie Homestead in 1924 to provide war orphans and other dependants of British seamen with life skills and farm training.

The New Zealand Government bought the centre in 1937.

It was closed 50 years later by which time, more than 3000 students had passed through successfully.

It was bought in 2007 by the Fry Family Trust.

There are plans to re-establish training programmes there. Its oral history project was launched as part of the centennial celebrations.