The Puhoi Domain was officially opened on 29 June 1934, on the 71st anniversary of the landing of the first band of settlers from Bohemia at Pūhoi. R.J. Schollum, chairman of the Puhoi Domain Board, formally dedicated the domain to those settlers as the Puhoi Pioneers Memorial Park.
On 29 June 1953, during the community’s 90th anniversary celebrations, wrought iron war memorial gates were also opened at the entrance to the park. Tablets set into the concrete pillars were inscribed with the names of seven local men who lost their lives in the First World War and three who lost their lives in the Second World War.
Inside the nearby Puhoi Centennial Hall are framed, decorated and hand-lettered rolls of honour which list the names of men from the community who served in the respective world wars.
See: 'Puhoi Domain opened: memorial to pioneers', NZ Herald, 2/7/1934, p. 11; K. Mooney, A Story of Puhoi, 1863-1963, Warkworth, 1963, pp. 64-5, 72-3; Marjory Hurrey, Down the Years: A Scrapbook Chronicle of Puhoi, 2nd ed., ed. Christine Krippner, Te Awamutu, 2013, pp. 339-41.
Images: Bruce Ringer 2017, 2018; Christine Chambers, Rodney Libraries, 2009 (for details of pillars)
Text: Bruce Ringer 2017, 2018, 2023
Find out more about the people listed on this memorial on the Auckland Museum's Cenotaph website