Feilding resident William Herlihy reflects on eight decades spent living in the Manawatū town

Feilding resident William Herlihy remembers trees along South St provided shade on the way to the horse races his mother loved to attend. Photos / Judith Lacy

William Herlihy is best known as the co-owner of the Feilding house that was dramatically washed into Kiwitea Stream 20 years ago.

But he reckons people will also remember him as the sign painter with a beard down to his chest who did work for many Feilding businesses.

Herlihy spoke to the Manawatū Guardian ahead of this weekend’s events to mark the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Manchester Block, on which Feilding was built. He has lived in Feilding all his life.

Herlihy is now at Wimbledon Villa rest home and says this story should be called “memories of a geriatric”.

“Being in here is a whole new ballgame - I don’t know how I would exist outside. If you can’t do things for yourself, there’s no better way to go.”

Herlihy uses a walker and walking stick to get around, and says getting into vehicles and climbing stairs is a bit of a mission.

He is going blind and “fast going deaf” but takes part in Wimbledon activities as he can. He pulls out a drawing he did of the sunflower farm he visited with others at the rest home.

The 84-year-old says staff read his face to see if mischief is going on. The long beard has gone. “They civilised me when they got me in here.”

He keeps up with the news and spoke about the death of Michael Tunnicliffe, who died on his 92nd birthday while competing at the New Zealand Masters’ Games this month. Herlihy did some work for Tunnicliffe.

In 1955, Herlihy started working for Clelands The Paint People in Fergusson St.

He remembers climbing up the front of the Feilding Hotel to put canvas signs on the balcony when things were happening around town. He also used to do the sign boards in Manchester Square.

“I was always flying around in my truck. I was always going, going, going.”

He did a lot of work at Manfeild. “I used to arrive on a pushbike or a truck, anything I could grab to get there.”

Herlihy says it doesn’t seem like 20 years since a raging stream claimed the house he owned with his brother Pat, who has since died.

The family bible found downstream after the flood is now with his sister in Auckland. Just two stamps from his collection were recovered.

While age and poor hearing affect his conversational ability, Herlihy says when someone says something, that will trigger his memory and information he didn’t know he had will come out.

He attended St Joseph’s School in Feilding and Marist Brothers School in Palmerston North, but says he wasn’t a great attendee.

He remembers at 6 or 7 being taken for a haircut, and was not at all impressed with the buzzer. “It sounded like a bumblebee.”

Herlihy used to do a lot of model train building, and last year was made a life member of the Northern Manawatū Model Railway Club.

He says he is waiting for death to tap him on the shoulder, but he has lived a varied and interesting life.

“Don’t worry, it only makes you sick.”

He advises people to avoid getting agitated, as then you will get confused and make a lot of unnecessary mistakes.

“We can’t be serious. If you are serious, you will make yourself ill.”

The 150th anniversary programme is available at feilding.co.nz.

Judith Lacy has been the editor of the Manawatū Guardian since December 2020. She graduated from journalism school in 2001 and this is her second role editing a community paper.