John Flynn Retirement Village

Living life to its fullest

The CBD is only 19km away from John Flynn Retirement Village, Burwood East. The village is located in the same block of the Burwood Brickworks development. This modern retail center features an urban rooftop farm and an extensive retail space. There are many transportation options nearby, so you can enjoy all the conveniences of home. It is the ideal setting for a simple apartment lifestyle.

John Flynn Village is a Ryman village that offers a variety of living options. There are modern, timeless apartments and assisted-living apartments. There is also a variety of aged care options available, including low-care, high care, and specialist dementia care. You can rest assured that your loved ones will be close by if you have any changes in your care needs.

There are also top-notch amenities like a cafe, hair and beauty salon, and an all-weather bowling alley. You can truly live your life here.

Our story

It has to be enough for Mum and Dad!

Kevin Hickman, an American in 1983, walked into a burned-out villa to find out how the fire started. Kevin was not happy with what he saw in the resthome (aged care facility).

“There were four people in a room with shared bathrooms down the corridor. The staff at the resthome were friendly and did a great job. It was insane to me. It was so low. That’s the way resthomes were back then.

Kevin began to think about the ideal standard. “I wondered what I would want for Mum. For a start, I would like a single bedroom with an ensuite.

The perfect business

Kevin and John Ryder, his business partner, had been friends for many years. Kevin, who had just left the police force to start his private investigation company, needed an accountant. Kevin believes that the partnership was successful because of their complementary skills.

They were looking for a business opportunity. They knew that they had found the right opportunity after Kevin’s experience at the fire-damaged home. They could create a business that would change the lives and care of older people. They could feel confident in the business and be proud of it.

Soon, they found 14 flats with two bedrooms in Christchurch, New Zealand. They would soon convert them into their first home.

Ryman was formed by Hickman and Ryder.

Riverside was the new name for the resthome, which was a huge success. Ryman soon found a second property on the market.

Their next project was a Christchurch motel complex. Kevin explains, “Because it wasn’t much money we lived there while rebuilding it.”

John and Kevin believed in reinvesting the profits to grow the business. To ensure that future earnings were compounding, profits were reinvested.

The Ryman formula was to purchase the site in a suburb that is well-established, use working capital for the first stage, then sell it and use the capital to finance the second stage. The Ryman system would then be used to build a care wing, and run the village with local staff.

The belief in developing in-house talent

Kevin refers to the current leaders as “the Ryman children” – and “kids” pretty much sums up what they were at the beginning.

John and Kevin believed in the importance of bringing talented, young people up through the ranks to high-ranking positions. To become Rymanians, people had to be able to work in the Ryman way. They had to care about everything they did.

Ryman’s philosophy hasn’t changed

Kevin believes Ryman’s ethos is the same three decades later. “Everything that we do must be enough for Mum and Dad.”