Elwyn
Welch,
trainer
of
the
special
bantams,
was
born
and
raised
on
the
‘Kelvin
Grove’
farm
where
he
developed
a
passionate
interest
in
nature,
especially
birds.
He
had
an
aviary
at
home
where
he
raised
a
variety
of
birds.
He
was
educated
at
Kaiparoro
School
and
he
and
his
sister
rode
their
horses
the
six
miles
each
way
every
day.
As
a
boarder
at
Wairarapa
College,
Elwyn
became
friendly
with
John
Cunningham,
another
bird
enthusiast.
It
was
through
this
friendship
that
Elwyn
met
Dr.
Falla,
a
leading
scientist
of
the
day.
He
kept
in
touch
with
Falla
after
leaving
college,
often
corresponding
about
birds.
Later,
after
he
had
taken
over
the
farm
from
his
father
and
married,
Falla
visited
on
a
number
of
occasions.
In
1949
Elwyn
Welch
produced
an
interesting
report
about
the
bird
life
in
the
Reserve
next
door
to
his
farm.
He
and
John
Cunningham
had
taken
members
of
the
Science
Congress
around
Wairarapa.
A
member
of
the
party,
Dr.
Murphy
from
the
United
States,
a
world
authority
on
ornithology,
said
he
had
seen
a
blue
wattled
crow
in
the
bush.
While
no
one
else
was
able
to
confirm
the
sighting,
Murphy
was
adamant
that
he
had
seen
the
bird,
even
though
the
last
recorded
sighting
had
been
in
1908
in
the
nearby
Tararua
Ranges.
Elwyn’s
report
went
on
to
say:
“Altogether,
Mount
Bruce
has
more
than
its
share
of
New
Zealand
native
birds
and
given
protection
and
the
care
it
requires
this
high
standard
of
bird
life
should
not
only
be
maintained,
but
raised.”
Although
work
on
the
farm
kept
him
busy,
Elwyn
ventured
into
the
Tararuas
whenever
he
had
the
opportunity.
His
patience
must
have
been
tested
during
the
three
years
it
took
to
train
the
bantams,
but
he
enjoyed
the
challenge.
After
the
cloak
and
dagger
exercise
of
bringing
the
takahe
chicks
back,
their
location
remained
a
secret.
Even
a
very
good
friend
didn’t
know
about
the
takahe
until
he
saw
them
during
a
visit
to
the
farm.
In
1960
it
was
decided
to
allow
the
public
to
see
these
rare
takahe,
by
now
well-grown.
There
was
enormous
interest
with
over
16,000
people
travelling
to
see
the
birds.
In
fact
the
display
was
closed
after
only
a
fortnight.
With
the
raising
of
takahe
so
successful,
the
Wildlife
Service
then
asked
Elwyn
to
raise
the
even
rarer
kakapo.
The
attempt
failed,
mainly
because
of
the
lack
of
information
about
their
diet.
At
one
stage
Elwyn
was
looking
after
four
kakapo,
three
takahe
and
a
kiwi.
In
1961
Elwyn
Welch
left
‘Kelvin
Grove’
to
take
up
missionary
work
for
the
Brethren
Church
in
Nigeria
and
the
Wildlife
Service
purchased
the
farm.
Sadly,
he
died
from
a
tropical
disease
not
long
after
taking
up
the
post.
The
Department
continued
at
the
farm
for
another
two
years
before
deciding
to
move
to
the
Mount
Bruce
Forest
Reserve
where
other
species
were
added
to
the
captive
breeding
programmes
From
Colin
Scaddens
book
"Mount
Bruce
National
Wildlife
Centre"
Elwyn
Welch,
trainer
of
the
special
bantams,
was
born
and
raised
on
the
‘Kelvin
Grove’
farm
where
he
developed
a
passionate
interest
in
nature,
especially
birds.
He
had
an
aviary
at
home
where
he
raised
a
variety
of
birds.
He
was
educated
at
Kaiparoro
School
and
he
and
his
sister
rode
their
horses
the
six
miles
each
way
every
day.
As
a
boarder
at
Wairarapa
College,
Elwyn
became
friendly
with
John
Cunningham,
another
bird
enthusiast.
It
was
through
this
friendship
that
Elwyn
met
Dr.
Falla,
a
leading
scientist
of
the
day.
He
kept
in
touch
with
Falla
after
leaving
college,
often
corresponding
about
birds.
Later,
after
he
had
taken
over
the
farm
from
his
father
and
married,
Falla
visited
on
a
number
of
occasions.
In
1949
Elwyn
Welch
produced
an
interesting
report
about
the
bird
life
in
the
Reserve
next
door
to
his
farm.
He
and
John
Cunningham
had
taken
members
of
the
Science
Congress
around
Wairarapa.
A
member
of
the
party,
Dr.
Murphy
from
the
United
States,
a
world
authority
on
ornithology,
said
he
had
seen
a
blue
wattled
crow
in
the
bush.
While
no
one
else
was
able
to
confirm
the
sighting,
Murphy
was
adamant
that
he
had
seen
the
bird,
even
though
the
last
recorded
sighting
had
been
in
1908
in
the
nearby
Tararua
Ranges.