Puhoi Historical Society’s Newsletter – No 4. June 2007
Compiled by Werner FISCHER, Box 404-031, Puhoi 0939.
Our Museum Reborn
We are delighted with the reaction by new visitors and old friends alike to our little museum's radically changed appearance.
And it really was time for a change!
Museums everywhere tend to be over-whelmed by donors' generosity and have difficulties in finding display space for all those gifts. Where DO you put a light green wringer/washing machine from the early fifties when there is no space left? In our case it was the museum's doorway, which it blocked very effectively for years. Something had to be done and the committee's reaction was to engage in a complete rethink of what our aims should be and how we can best achieve them.
Luckily, our museum's role is a pretty obvious one: Our Society already has excellent written, taped and photographic records as well as extensive genealogical details of Puhoi's history from the first day the Bohemian settlers arrived. So, we already occupy a special niche dedicated to the preservation of knowledge about the difficulties and hardships of this particular settlement's early days and its subsequent growth and development. Such growth ended with the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s and our museum needs to reflect that.
Once the decision was taken that ours is a niche museum which documents Puhoi's history from the 1860's to the 1930's,that washer from the 50's had to go. As did the radios, typewriters, record players and all the other items from the same period which were outside our chosen dates. Other museums around the country have more complete collections of such artefacts and can tell their stories far more effectively.
From under the welter emerged the all-wood potato plough, the button accordions, the shingle knife, the horns of a prized bullock, the raft building equipment and the dudelsack - all uniquely 'Puhoi' - along with dozens and dozens of items which illustrate this settlement's unique history.
Best of all, we suddenly had the room to dedicate space to different themes like buildings, bush, the home, costumes, music, school, church etc. and still leave one entire wall free for a timeline which details the development of the village.
Add new glassed display cases and some nifty lighting, move the model of the village into the centre of the room, raise it in order to catch the eye and create more display space underneath ... and you have a completely different museum which entices visitors to enter and contemplate.
And the committee's ideas don't end there. The valuable dresses we have on display need to be protected in a special glass case and future plans also include adding interactive equipment which would enable visitors to hear the sound of a dudelsack, listen to the Bohemian dialect, have customs and costumes explained to them or watch slide shows of historic photos or a video of the Bohemian dance group. We would also like to install computerised projection equipment to be used when lecturing the many groups who visit us.
When we have done all that you won't recognise your museum anymore. It will be reborn indeed.
The raised and repositioned model.
Potato plough
Bullock yoke and chains
‘Home’ section
Rebuilding the Wharf
River traffic was once vital for Puhoi and there are moves afoot to build another wharf on the river in the village centre. Plans have been drawn up, consents applied for, tenders let and fundraising is well underway.
As all income generated by the growing village once depended on trade with Auckland, a cheap and reliable means of transporting produce to and from that market was essential. So, around 1880 a first small wharf was built on the river bank opposite the store to enable a steamer to tie up. This eventually proved inadequate and was replaced by a more substantial structure, which included two solid storage sheds. In addition, a substantial wooden swing bridge was built where the main road to the north crosses the Puhoi river, in order to accommodate both vehicular traffic and the all important steamer.
After the great flood of 1924 had swept away the Puhoi wharf and its storage sheds as well as the swing bridge over the river, the Auckland Provincial Government of the day decided to replace the old wooden bridge with a more modern concrete structure. This proved to be too low for the steamer and that spelled the end of all river traffic and any plans to rebuild the wharf - until today!
When first mooted, the idea was to resurrect the original structure, including the two storage sheds, on the historic site. Sadly, early visions of vessels coming up the river again and tying up opposite the shop were dashed because even today's State Highway bridge is too low for anything other than small craft. A wharf built to the original specifications would be too high and quite unusable for such craft.
So, a compromise solution is to build a smaller commemorative structure where the original wharf and sheds were situated, while providing launching facilities for small boats on the opposite side of the river. Part of the overall plan is to build a walkway which will connect the old wharf site with all the other historic sites along the river bank Seating and commemorative plaques will be installed and it should be a pleasant place to sit and think and take in the view.
Dance Group back in action.
After several months in the doldrums the dance group, having gained some new members and with strong support from its faithful regulars, is back into weekly rehearsals under Jenny SCHOLLUM’s tutorship.
The fact that there had been no dancing for nearly six months worried the Society's committee considerably. Puhoi without its traditional dancing is, after all, quite unthinkable! Happily, a meeting over wine and nibbles established that the dancers were still as keen as ever and that all that was needed was a bit of organisational help.
So, the Society is now officially responsible for hiring the hall, storing costumes and organising events and the dancers can concentrate on delivering a polished performance.
Note from the Editor
Puhoi has a very special part to play in bringing to life New Zealand's history.
The Bohemian community was close knit and the population of the village did not change much over 70 years. As a result, stories and oral histories were preserved to a larger degree here than in most other places around New Zealand, where populations fluctuated as people moved in and out.
Puhoi can therefore be used to study the problems and hardships faced by early settlers anywhere in New Zealand and can illustrate in some detail how this country was settled. The Bohemians were not the only new arrivals who had to overcome the seemingly insurmountable. Most new settlers had to cope with a hostile environment, frightening isolation and an implacable demand to be self-reliant. What makes Puhoi different is that we can document how people met the challenge and what it took, not only to survive under the circumstances, but to build a whole new life. And in the process, we might even throw some light on what makes New Zealanders what they are.
Fascinating stuff, working for the Historical Society, and a great service to the community, if you are into that sort of thing. Luckily, we have a small crew of regulars who are prepared to spend hours attending meetings, sitting at a computer or working at a huge variety of jobs in or around the museum. They are the core of the Society who make it the interesting, buzzing and well organised little association it is.
What makes me really sad, though, is that we don't have enough volunteers to work at the fringes, who are prepared to spend one afternoon a month to keep the museum open. So it has become a very real struggle just to keep it open during weekend afternoons over the winter period let alone having someone there each afternoon in the summer from Xmas until Easter plus over School Holidays. It would be a crying shame if more support is not forthcoming and visitors find the Museum is not open when they expect it to be as we have put so much into it and have so much to offer!
Even if you do not live sufficiently close to directly assist, or perhaps you live overseas, please give us some encouragement by at least joining the Society as members.