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The ongoing job of maintaining and preserving Puhoi’s iconic pub has been given a financial shot in the arm, thanks to a $50,000 grant from Auckland Council’s regional historic heritage fund.
The award was one of 21 grants totalling $530,000 in this year’s programme, which aims to encourage community involvement in the care of regionally significant historic heritage places.
Pub owner Bernie McCallion said the money would go towards repairing the hotel’s damaged verandah structure, and repainting the outside and roof of the two-storey building.
“This funding will make a significant difference in enabling us to bring The Puhoi Pub Hotel and Stables back to life,” she said.
“We appreciate council’s support and commitment to help the hub of Puhoi be used to its full extent, and allowing the verandah to be safe and secure for tourists and the community.”
The Puhoi pub was established by John Schollum, a Bohemian migrant who arrived in Puhoi in 1863 and opened The German Hotel in 1876, offering accommodation for both patrons and their horses. The current pub building replaced the original hotel in 1901 and it is believed the name changed to the Puhoi Hotel around the time of World War I.
The pub is scheduled as a historic heritage place under the Auckland Unitary Plan, recorded as “standing out as a local landmark due to its height and picturesque appearance”.
McCallion has owned the historic inn since 2020, when she bought it from Gillian Seymour, whose family had been landlords since 1962.
As well as it’s attractive whiteboard exterior, the pub is well-known for its vast collection of memorabilia that lines the timber walls of the bar, with everything from antique signs and tools to old bottles and bank notes filling every inch of space.
