Celebrating the Pūhoi Book Launch: A Journey of Words and Community

On 28 June 2025 Massey University Press is launching the lavishly illustrated 170-page book After Winter comes the Summer: Pūhoi’s musical heritage in song, rhyme and dance written by Roger Buckton, Ralf Heimrath and Judith Williams, edited by Tracey Borgfeldt.

It contains a unique collection of old dialect songs brought to New Zealand from Bohemia in 1863 and sung in Pūhoi for the following 100 years. Come and join the celebration!

The programme for the day: 10.30am–12.00pm Book launch and performance by Folkworks. Becky Livingstone (soprano and harp), Gabrielle Aumont (soprano), Heather Gladstone (alto and accordion), Anita Sauer (tenor), Howard Livingstone (tenor), Claire Weyland (violin), Sara Clarke (alto and viola) and Roger Buckton (bass and dudelsack). 12.00pm–1.30pm Lunch. 1.30pm–2.30pm Community sing-a-long lead by Heather Gladstone QSM. This is your chance to learn the songs and learn to speak the old Deitsch dialect. Children welcome! 2.30pm–3.30pm Dance workshop led by Jenny Schollum. Learn some of the dances that were done to the songs and tunes of the songbook, to the music of Folkworks.

Cost: $15 per person (including lunch). Payments to the Puhoi Heritage Museum by bank transfer prior to the event are appreciated.

For catering purposes please RSVP to puhoibohemianmuseum@gmail.com by 10 June. Books available for sale for $45. All profits to the Puhoi Heritage Museum.

Puhoi Village

In the 1860s, settlers from Bohemia (now within the Czech Republic) undertook a 124-day journey from their native land to Puhoi...