FLOCK HOUSE EXTENSION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21601, 23 March 1932, Page 5

FLOCK HOUSE EXTENSION

MEETING OF INTERESTED BODIES

A meeting of representatives of bodies interested in the extension of the Flock House scheme so ns to include the sons of deceased or disabled ex-service men was held in the Returned Soldiers’ Chib Rooms yesterday afternoon. Mr W. F. Forrester (president of the Dunedin Returned Soldiers’ Association) was in the chair, and also present were Messrs E. R. Grace and J. L. Salmond (Otago Patriotic Society), W. B. Steel (Otago Expansion League), and A. C. Cameron (Otago Farmers’ Union). Mr Forrester said that at a previous meeting he had not been able to give any detailed information until the conference at Flock House had been held. He and Mr Grace had attended the conference, which had been most successful. Sir James Allen had previously approached Cabinet with the idea of obtaining assistance, and it had been announced at the conference that the Government would pay £25 per annum for each boy in Flock House, leaving £25 per annum per boy to be found by the Returned Soldiers’ Associations and other bodies interested. Mr Forrester then submitted a brief report on the activities of the conference, and said that it was estimated that Flock House could be efficiently operated with 90 boys at £SO a year per boy, of which the Government paid one-half, leaving £2250 per year to be found by the Returned Soldiers’ Associations and other interested bodies. The Otago allocation was nine boys per annum, or six boys for the eight-monthly period over which tiie course at Flock House extended, so that the cost to the Otago bodies would be £225 per annum, which he considered there should be little difficulty in finding. After some further discussion it was decided that Messrs W. F. Forrester, E, R. Grace, J. L. Salmond, and 0. L. Ferens constitute a preliminary committee to undertake the preparatory work in connection with the formation of an Otago committee to administer the affairs of the boys selected from Otago.