THE TRANSFER OF FLOCK HOUSE.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 23, 11 February 1937, Page 4

THE TRANSFER OF FLOCK HOUSE.

The transfer, reported elsewhere to-day, of the Flock House training farm from the control of private trustees to that of the State Education Deaprtment is an event tha.t fully merits something more than mere passing notice. So short is the public memory, in these days full also of almost daily distractions of note, that in all probability even the origin of this fine institution is forgotten by most. It resulted from the reeognition on the part of New Zealand £hegpfarmers of the great service that had been rendered to thepa by the Britisb sgamen manning the ships that had carried their wool across the oceans amid all the many dangers of the Great War. It was in the first instance in the conoeption of Mr. Edward Newman, then member for Oroua, that gratitude should take some practical form- The suggestion was therefore made and readily taken up that all profits derived by New Zealand farmers froni the post-war realisatiou oi their wooil still in the hands of the British Government should be devoted to establishing and carrying on a farm upon which the sons of British jseamen who had lost their lives or become disabled in the war might be gratuitously trained for farming life. A scheme was quickly formulated and, as the money eapae in, a farm was purchased, equipped and eompetently staffedj- and it is there that over a thousand lads have had a thorough practical training in all branches of modern farm' ing life as carried on in the Dominion. It was a splendid idea and has been splendidly carried out, with the result of turning out a band of fine young fellows fully prepared for the life that l«y before them. Nor did the interest of the trustees in their protegees end with their leaving the farm, for in every case suitable billets have been fpund for them and in not a few instances the elder among them have been, helped pnto farms of their own. Jt has to be noted, however, that as the years went on the number of applicants from the originally intended source began fo dwindle. It was then that Flock House was throwu open to sons of those of our own expeditionary force who had been killed or incapacitated in the war- Strangely enough, however, in a country whieb depends so much for its prosperity on the farming community, there were but very few who ca®e forward to take advantage of this opportunity. The consequence has been that the number of pupils necessary to justify the continuation of the farm on existing lines has not been forthcoming. Thus the trustees by force of circumstance have been most relluetantly compelled to abandon their own personal control and direetion and to hand the institution over to the Government as a going concern for it to be used for more general pubjic purposes of a like character. In the meantime, however, under tbe direetion of tlie trustees it has accomplished a fine work which, it is greatly to be doubted, has not been fully apreciated by the public. It is to be hoped thato in Government control the good work will be eontinued on as successful Jines and, with an educational enthusiast such as the Hon. Peter Fraser in office, there should be every good chance of that hope being fulfilled. And all this draws attention to tbe very scant public or governmental interest that is taken in Hawke's Bay's kindred institution on the "Smed,ley" astate, wliere like good work is being done by, an advisory board which meets with only very occasional public recognitipn.