Flock House

Last updated

Flock House was an agricultural and farm training school in Bulls, Rangitikei District, New Zealand from 1924 until 1987.

Contents

From 1924 to 1937 children of British seamen that had been killed or wounded during World War I were brought over, trained at Flock House, and placed on farms in New Zealand, to start a new life. From 1937 to 1987 New Zealand nationals were trained at the school.

The complex was used by private owners since 1987 as a conference facility.

The building

Flock House is located at 1427 Parewanui Road, Parewanui, 14 km out of Bulls. The homestead was built by Russell & Bignell Ltd. in 1908, as a three-storey residence for Lyn McKelvie, and is now under Heritage New Zealand. The building has an L-shaped plan, and early elements of the Arts and Crafts style that became popular in New Zealand in the 1930s. McKelvie was the owner of an estate of over 3,000 acres (12 km2). The property, including the Homestead, was sold in 1923 to the Fund, that would use it as an agricultural training farm from then on. [1]

History of the school

Following the First World War, Edward Newman, Member of Parliament for Rangitikei, proposed that sheep farmers in New Zealand should acknowledge a "debt" to the British Royal and Mercantile Navy. These seamen had kept the shipping lanes open enabling New Zealand's wool-clip to be sent to England. The New Zealand Farmers Union established the "New Zealand Sheep Owners Acknowledgement of Debt to British Seamen Fund", from farmers' wool-clip earnings and from 1921 funds were distributed to dependents in England.

By 1924, the Fund purchased Flock House Farm in Bulls, Rangitikei, with the intention of bringing dependents to New Zealand, teaching them the basics of farming at Flock House, then placing them on farms around New Zealand. Between 1924 and 1937 a total of over 600 dependents were brought over, trained and placed on farms.

In 1937 the Government negotiated the purchase of the farm and re-focused training towards New Zealand nationals.

From 1969 to 1983, the principal of Flock House was JJ Stewart, also noted as a rugby union coach.

In 1988 the facility was closed. By that time, more than 3,000 students had been successfully trained. [2]

In early 2010 the site was used to host Camp A Low Hum, an alternative music festival over Wellington Anniversary Weekend. [3]

Related Research Articles

The Willandra National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Far West region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The 19,386-hectare (47,900-acre) national park is situated approximately 580 kilometres (360 mi) west of Sydney and comprises flat grassy plain bounded to the north by Willandra Creek, which is a tributary of the Lachlan River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taihape</span> Town in Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand

Taihape is in the Rangitikei District of the North Island of New Zealand. It serves a large rural community. State Highway 1, which runs North to South through the centre of the North Island, passes through the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Merino</span> Breed of sheep

The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the breed were not allowed, and those who tried risked the death penalty. During the eighteenth century, flocks were sent to the courts of a number of European countries, including France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Prussia, Saxony and Sweden. The Merino subsequently spread to many parts of the world, including South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Numerous recognised breeds, strains and variants have developed from the original type; these include, among others, the American Merino and Delaine Merino in the Americas, the Australian Merino, Booroola Merino and Peppin Merino in Oceania, and the Gentile di Puglia, Merinolandschaf and Rambouillet in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tangimoana</span> Settlement in Manawatū-Whanganui Region, New Zealand

Tangimoana is a community in the Manawatū-Whanganui Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It had a population of 303 permanent residents in 2018. It is located 15 kilometres southwest of Bulls, and 30 kilometres west of Palmerston North.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rangitīkei River</span> River in New Zealand

The Rangitīkei River is one of New Zealand's longest rivers, 253 kilometres (157 mi) long.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cotswold sheep</span> Breed of sheep

The Cotswold is a British breed of domestic sheep. It originates in, and is named for, the Cotswold hills of the southern midlands of England. It is a large long-woollen sheep, and is kept as a dual-purpose breed, providing both meat and wool.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheep station</span> On sheep rearing areas

A sheep station is a large property in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or south-west of the country. In New Zealand the Merinos are usually in the high country of the South Island. These properties may be thousands of square kilometres in size and run low stocking rates to be able to sustainably provide enough feed and water for the stock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avondale Agricultural Research Station</span> Farm and research location in Western Australia

Avondale Agricultural Research Station or Avondale Discovery Farm is one of thirteen research farms and stations operated by Western Australia's Department of Agriculture and Food. In addition to its research, Avondale has historical buildings, a farming equipment museum and operates as an agriculture education centre specialising in introducing primary school children to farming, and teaching of its history in Western Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Rangitikei by-election</span> New Zealand by-election

The Rangitikei by-election of 1978 was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Rangitikei, a predominantly rural district in the middle of New Zealand's North Island. The by-election occurred on 18 February 1978, and was precipitated by the death of sitting National Party member of parliament Sir Roy Jack in December 1977.

Mangamahu is a hill-country farming and forestry community in the middle reaches of the Whangaehu River valley, in the Whanganui District and Rangitikei District of Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand. It is centred on the village of Mangamahu, which is situated on river flats where the Mangamahu stream flows into the Whangaehu river. Mangamahu has a primary school which has been open since 1894 and a War Memorial hall built in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Bignell</span>

Arthur Gorbell Bignell was Mayor of Wanganui from 1904 to 1906, and a builder in Oamaru, the West Coast, Wanganui and the Rangitikei district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Wilson (New Zealand politician, born 1849)</span> Politician from New Zealand born in 1849

Sir James Glenny Wilson was a New Zealand politician and farmer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Newman (New Zealand politician)</span>

Edward Newman was a Reform Party Member of Parliament and a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council in the early 20th century.

William Crooks was manager of Eastwoodhill Arboretum, Ngatapa, Gisborne, New Zealand from 1967 to 1974. For the previous forty years he was the assistant of William Douglas Cook, founder of the arboretum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestication of the sheep</span> Aspect of history surrounding the domestic sheep

The history of the domestic sheep goes back to between 11,000 and 9,000 BC, and the domestication of the wild mouflon in ancient Mesopotamia. Sheep are among the first animals to have been domesticated by humans. These sheep were primarily raised for meat, milk, and skins. Woolly sheep began to be developed around 6000 BC. They were then imported to Africa and Europe via trading.

Ian Robert Flockhart McKelvie is a New Zealand politician. He represented the National Party in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 2011 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheep farming in New Zealand</span> Sheep farming in New Zealand

Sheep farming is a significant industry in New Zealand. According to 2007 figures reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, there are 39 million sheep in the country. The country has the highest density of sheep per unit area in the world. For 130 years, sheep farming was the country's most important agricultural industry, but it was overtaken by dairy farming in 1987. Sheep numbers peaked in New Zealand in 1982 to 70 million and then dropped to about 27.6 million. There are 16,000 sheep and beef farms in the country which has made the country the world's largest exporter of lambs, with 24 million finished lambs recorded every year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ngamahanga</span> Rural community in Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Ngamahanga is a rural community, in the northeastern part of Rangitikei District, in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. The rest of the Rangitikei District is located in the Manawatū-Whanganui region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mataroa</span>

Mataroa is a settlement in the Rangitikei District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island.

Parewanui is a settlement situated southeast of Bulls in the North Island of New Zealand.

References

  1. "Flock House Homestead". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand . Retrieved 31 August 2009.
  2. Flock House History page [ permanent dead link ] on the Flockhouse website
  3. Sutton, Jessica (20 January 2010). "Old Flock to rock at A Low Hum". Manawatu Standard . Retrieved 30 September 2011.

40°15′54″S175°17′16″E / 40.2650°S 175.2879°E / -40.2650; 175.2879