FLOCK HOUSE AT BULLS.

Shannon News, 3 August 1928, Page 3

FLOCK HOUSE AT BULLS.

A LEVINITE'S OBSERVATIONS

The following article is #rom the pen of Mr W. C. Nation, of Levin, who; a few days ago paid a visit to Flock House, at Parewanui, ten miles from the town of Bulls. The general public, says Mr Nation, 'have no idea of the extent of this settlement and what is being done there. For four years it has been carried, on under the" auspices of the "New Zealand Sheepowners, as an Acknowledgment of Debt to the British Seamen Fund." His Koyal Highness the Prince of Wales is Patron of this institution, which is administered.by a" Board of Trustees appointed by the New Zealand Sheepowners, assisted by an advisory committee in London. It is the sons and daughters of British seamen —whether naval or mercantile marine—killed or incapacitated during the great war, who are eligible to benefit under if. their ages are between -J4- and ;. : 18 years,.' and who, by the London committee are considered suitable. jto : 'be sent put to New Zealand to lic'eive instruction in all branches of farm work.

, Captain F. H. Billington, is the Principal of Flock House Station, a gentleman who saw service in Fiance, Macedonia, an-ft'i Palestine, during : /tlft war. That his is no. sinecure can be judged, by the fact that the farm comprises eight thousand acres, and at '> the present time carries 80 cows (which supply the dairy factory at Bulls, ten miles away), 7000 sheep, 1000 head of beef cattle, and 150 pigs. The boys have planted 78,000 forest trees, and as the farm has three miles of. beach abutting on Cook Strait, the boys are employed in planting marram grass" to keep the sand within bounds. There are seven acres of garden and orchard. ' The period of training the boys i from eight to nine months, and during this time they work under different foremen in the various branches oi farm work, such as sheep herding, team work, milking and dairy work, fencing tree planting, horticulture, etc. It ma\' be said that the training v peripd is toe . short in which to fit a'lad as a good farm hand. Granted. But the scheme of the sheep owners, is splendid for. giving these lads a useful general knowledge of the -work they are to enter oil Under capable teaching they get good all round knowledge, and from theii advent they are a useful, asset on any farm or station wliere they may bi plaeed. At the expiration of his training at Flock House-the. boy.'-serve's- i hre'e years apprenticeship with a .gdbd.farmer, and the Trustees "give watehfiil at tention to these boya the.'a'ge ol 20. During his apprenticeship his Avag; es range from 15s to £1 2s 6d per week and found for the first year, with ..an.; nual rises according to his usefulness. The Trustees retain-and place to boys' credit in the Savings "Bank two... thirds of his wages. Four hundred boys have already beeiplaced out. At present Flock House,Kv overcrowded, t'liere being seventy boy. theie. During their training, they re eeive 2s 6d per week pocket money On the farm the" boys can indulge ii outdoor sports —football, tennis, hockey cricket, swimming, etc. ,--,, | In Capt. 1 Billington the boys have, i • manager alive to the best way to brinj. out hidden qualities. There is no driv. ing by any, of the trainers, but even boy is expected to show what grit h. is "possessed of. There is an impression abroad thai Flock House* is a Government institu tion. It is nothing of the kind. A before stated, it is carried on "undo, the auspices of the New Zealand sheej. owners as an acknowledgment of deb"' to the British Seamen Fund." It vva; the British seameir who kept the waj open for us New Zealanders to send ou. produce over the seas in safety durinj. the war, and this expression of gratitude by the sheep-owners stands ou prominently as a noble and gener'ou gift. My visit was short, but in Cap tain Billington I found a warm welcom< and a readiness to impart information Of the boys I saw but little, for the} were here "and there busy at work.

On the farm are boys who by tin voyage from England in a steamshi] have learned .something of '' life on th ocean wave." The voyage opened ou a new world for them, and now the) are in a young country, full of prom ise, and as they gain experience on tin land they will help to develop its re sources. The,,-sheep, owners struck ; jrand idea when they decided to giv< the sons of BritJsJi seamen who had faU leu in the war a OldCduntrj' conditions, with an out fit, aphonic, and a training in this fail land.! ' ■■ *