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Craigflower Manor gets new life as Highland games group steps in

The Victoria Highland Games Association is renting historic Craigflower Manor in View Royal with plans to breathe new life into the property.
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The Highland Games Association, run by volunteers, will take over Craigflower Manor, a national historic site built for the capital regionÕs first farm bailiff, Kenneth McKenzie.

The Victoria Highland Games Association is renting historic Craigflower Manor in View Royal with plans to breathe new life into the property.

The association and other community groups will hold special weekend events to attract citizens who can tour the manor at no cost, Jim Maxwell, Games Association president said Tuesday.

The province took over ownership of Craigflower Manor and its schoolhouse in 2012 from The Land Conservancy of B.C. because the non-profit group, now in creditor-protection, was losing $150,000 annually on the museums.

In 2013, the province sought expressions of interest for the heritage site at Craigflower and Admirals roads.

Maxwell’s group of about 150 volunteers aims to maintain the site on their own, he said.

“We are going to use the power of volunteers to bring the site alive.”

That means there are no salaries and benefits to pay. There are no set museum hours at this time. The one-year lease of $35,000 does not include the schoolhouse.

Work that association members carry out on the property will help offset the rental cost, Maxwell said.

The association has a strong track record in the region. It stages the annual Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival which attracts about 20,000 people. This year’s May 17-18 Games at Topaz Park marks the event’s 151st year.

Maxwell sees a link between his association and the manor, built in the 1850s, associated with early Scottish immigrants. The building is among 62 provincial heritage sites and is also a national historic site.

“With the Victoria Highland Games Association taking residency, the Craigflower National Historic Site will again become an active and important place in the community,” Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Steve Thomson said in a statement.

The manor house was built for the capital region’s first farm bailiff, Kenneth McKenzie and his family, by the early Scots settlers and looks similar to Renton Hall in Haddington, East Lothian, McKenzie’s ancestral home in Scotland. McKenzie likely attended the first Highland Games in Victoria, Maxwell said.

Details of how future events will be staged are still to be developed, he said. The aim is offer the three-acre site to local associations to showcase their interests to foster community spirit.

“We want to be a good community partner.”

After this year’s Highland Games, the association’s website will either include Craigflower event information or a link will be posted, Maxwell said.

cjwilson@timescolonist.com