Puhoi+Part+A

Puhoi Part A
 Puhoi is a small settlement north of Auckland. The people who settled in this area were from Bohemia, which is now part of the Czech Republic. The story of Puhoi starts with Captain Martin Krippner.

He was born in Bohemia and married an English woman, Emily Longdill. Her brother had migrated to New Zealand in 1859. He wrote to his sister and brother-in-law and encouraged them to move to New Zealand. These letters encouraged Krippner and his wife to migrate to New Zealand as they liked the sound of the place - not many people, lots of land, and a nice climate. To start with the Krippners found life in New Zealand difficult as they had to work hard on their land that they had settled on in Orewa. Captain Krippner did not make his fortune in New Zealand but he had discovered that it was a land of freedom and equality. The Krippners sent letters to family and friends in Bohemia telling them of this wonderful new land where they could be granted 40 acres of land.

At this time in Bohemia, the people lived a peaceful life, yet there were no opportunities for them. They could not make much money, there was poverty, hunger and extreme coldness during winter. Eighty-three men, women and children decided to leave Bohemia for New Zealand, a land where they believed that they could make money and own some land. This small group scraped together enough money to pay for the voyage to New Zealand. Many had chosen to leave family and friends, which must have been a difficult decision as there was no guarantee that they would ever see them again.

The Bohemians travelled to Prague then on to Hamburg in February 1863. Here they boarded the ship War Spirit for their 106-day voyage across the seas to New Zealand. There were also Scottish and Irish settlers aboard. The voyage was mostly uneventful except for one death and seven births.

The War Spirit arrived in Auckland to let off the settlers. The Bohemians were then transferred to a smaller boat and sailed up to the mouth of the Puhoi River (where Wenderholm is today). Here the Bohemians had their first encounter with local Maori who paddled them up the river in their wakas. It was night time when the wakas reached Puhoi. There was a small clearing at the edge of the river where two Nikau whares had been built. The Bohemians were cold and hungry. This was not what they expected in New Zealand. In the morning the Bohemians saw how isolated they were. The only way in and out of Puhoi was via the river. The entire area was heavily forested. They had very few possessions, no food, spoke a different language, and did not have many tools.