BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN BALLANCE

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 21, 20 October 1941, Page 5

BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN BALLANCE

Cottage In Ulster Still

Stands

Au account of a visit to the birthplace iu Glenavy, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, of John Ballance, Premier of New Zealand from 1891 to 1893, was contributed by a New Zealander, Graeme Dowling, to tlie issue of the “Weekly Telegraph,” Belfast, of August 9 last. John Birllance s nephew of the same name still lives in the same old cottage there. In the former Premier’s day it bad a thatched roof, white mortar walls, tiny windows and a huge open hearth, (lie writer says. It is picturesque still, but time has brought changes. Now the front of the house is faced with concrete, larger windows have been built in, the roof is covered witli slate, and the fireplace has changed, but the pots and the kettle still hang over an open tire, suspended by the old crook and crane. Mr. Dowling says: "I found Mr. Ballance in the cow byre. After greeting me warmly in true Ulster fashion, his first words were: 'Tell me, sir, how high is my uncle’s,statue in the grounds of Parliament House''’ The nephew of John Ballance wouldn’t have called King Billy his father when I told him the statue was as high as his barn. “Inside b ! s kitchen Mr. Ballance showed me newspapers from New Zealand which he cherished greatly, lheie were photos of and articles on his famous uncle and scenes from N e " Zealand cities and national lite.