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Pūhoi township has been officially recognised as a historic heritage area, one of three new such areas to be added to the Auckland Unitary Plan’s historic heritage schedule.
Its addition to the schedule, together with seven historic heritage places, means it will be protected and managed under the provisions of the AUP’s historic heritage overlay.
Pūhoi already has six historic heritage places listed in the schedule: Pūhoi Hotel and Stables, the St
Peter and St Paul church, convent and presbytery, Pūhoi Library, Pūhoi Hall, the Old Schoolhouse and the Wayside Shrine on Pūhoi Road, erected in 1953 and reflecting the Catholic faith of the founding settlers.
The area now designated incorporates parts of Ahuroa, Pūhoi, Saleyards, Krippner and Domain roads.
Pūhoi – the Māori word means “slow water” – was established in 1863 by German-speaking immigrants from Bohemia in the present-day Czech Republic. It was a “special settlement” under the terms of 1858 legislation that offered European immigrants free 40-acre blocks, disposing of unsold land acquired from Māori through Crown “pre-emption”.
It was both the first Bohemian settlement in the country and one of just a handful of settlements established by non-English-speaking settlers from Europe under the legislation.
Buildings of significance that still exist today include the church, built in 1881 (along with a 1906 presbytery, a 1922 convent school, and a 1923 convent), stables built in 1883, workers’ residences built in 1886 and 1901, a community hall (1900), hotel (1901), library (1913), wharf shed (1924), and general store (1939).
According to a “statement of significance”, the township is “a well-preserved example of a colonial New Zealand town dating from the second half of the 19th century, and indeed one of the most distinct and discernible ‘special settlements’ established in the 1860s”.
“As a whole, the Pūhoi township has considerable aesthetic value as a picturesque rural settlement, of 19th century origin. Its collection of late-19th to early-20th century buildings and structures, together with trees and the rural and river backdrop, provides strong visual appeal.”
The other two Auckland areas added to the heritage schedule were Parkfield Terrace in Grafton and Jervois Road in Herne Bay.
The seven heritage places listed include the Wilsons Portland Cement Company dam in Warkworth.
The AUP plan change was publicly notified in August 2022, a submission period followed, and hearings began last May. The decisions were made on behalf of council by independent commissioners, and announced late last year.
