Oliver Ryan 1959-1964

Tell us about your time at SKC.

I went to SKC 1959-64, primarily as my father had been an old boy in the 1920s and as Latin wasn't taught at my local high school (Lincoln), I qualified for a government subsidy. This resulted in me regularly getting the "biff" for two years for not knowing my Latin vocabulary. I assume that the system of teaching no longer exists. Other memories included the army cadets week, the woodwork room, team sports, meal-time butter allocations, an aging Br McCarthy walking the top road daily, the tuck shop, the completion of the new chapel and classroom block, many rounds on the golf course, and three years in the Stables dormitory. The Christchurch train arrived about three hours before the Invercargill train, so Cantabrians had a choice of beds, especially the Magee building balcony beds. It took me two attempts to pass UE.  I returned for my upper sixth form year, making the first fifteen. Our upper sixth class shared a ticket in the first Mammoth Golden Kiwi and won £100. We left a memory box in the classroom rafters in 1964. I am not sure if it has survived for 60 years.

What have you been doing since leaving SKC?

I obtained a B Agr Sc at Lincoln College and an M Agr Sc (Hons) in Farm Management from Massey University, where I played rugby league for Manawatu. I joined NRM Feeds (then owned by Watties) as a Technical Manager responsible for feed formulation for the Tegel Poultry operation and a significant proportion of NZ's pig and layer farms. In that role, I was also involved in many technical assignments from the Pacific to China. In 1989, I moved to Hong Kong in a dual role as Goodman Fielder Wattie, a business development manager for NE Asia and GM for Wattie Food Services, which operated 6 of the 8 restaurants at the Kai Tak International Airport. When the airport concession finished in 1994, I moved to Singapore as business development manager for GFW Asia. After two years, GFW pulled out of Asia, and I moved to Japfa Comfeed in Indonesia for 3 years, where I became international manager responsible for developing pig, poultry and feed businesses in Vietnam, Myanmar and India, where they have since become dominant players. The 1997 Asian currency crisis corresponded with financial pressure on Japan, and I sought out the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank, to assist with funding our Indian expansion. That resulted in my being offered the position of livestock specialist with IFC in Washington DC. I spent 10 years there, travelling 120 days a year to process the funding of livestock projects in developing countries. My role was to undertake the due diligence on the technical and commercial aspects of the projects, typically USD50-100m expansions of poultry, pig, shrimp or beef processing operations. I retired in 2008 as the World Bank, then had a retirement age of 62 years. I continued to consult to them and commercial organisations in Asia for another ten years. I then retired to Rangiora to do oil paintings and follow my interests in racing, which included a win by Nazareth in the NZ Trotting Derby in 2022.

How SKC shaped you for life outside of school

The discipline of daily study ensured I obtained a qualification that I am sure I would not have achieved at Lincoln High. That enabled me to get a university education and the opportunities that graduation offered, which would change my life forever. SKC provided a solid ethical foundation that continues for life and which supported me through attractive temptations offered in the corrupt Asian business world. SKC connections continue for life. In 2014, Gavan Herlihy, John O'Brien, Errol Wilkinson,  Danny Boyle, and I watched SKC defeat WBHS on the 50th anniversary of our match (where we scored 5 tries and got beaten!) and Gavan, Pat Heaphy. Mike Minehan, Mike Woodlock, and I meet regularly at Lincoln College reunions.

Article added: Monday 22 July 2024