Martin Nekola, a Czech historian, recently discussed the incredible life story of Bohumil Popíšil with me. Popíšil was born in 1902 in Přerov, Moravia and lost his mother at the age of three. His father passed away when he was eight, and he decided to go to Prague instead of becoming a carpenter and cabinet maker. In 1926, he and his friend Josef Hübl set off on a five-year-long trip around the world, visiting 50 countries.
Popíšil documented his journey, taking photos and writing travel diaries. After he returned to Prague, he had a big exhibition at the Trade Fair Palace. He published two books based on his travels, one about China and one about New Zealand.
Popíšil settled in New Zealand in the late 1930s and became a chairman of the Czechoslovak Club in Auckland. He was very active in terms of assistance to Czechoslovak exile and he was in touch with the Czechoslovak exile government in London. He collected money for Czech resistance and for the Czech armies abroad.
Recently, Popíšil’s photos and articles were discovered by his grandson Ashley Berrysmith in a trunk in his house. Martin Nekola is now in charge of his estate and is still going through the photos and other material found in the trunk. There have already been several outcomes of his research, including an exhibition currently on display in the Moravian capital of Břeclav. Martin is also planning to publish a book focusing exclusively on Popíšil’s life story.
New Zealand has been very popular with Czech tourists in recent years, but not many people know that there were Czech settlers back in the 19th century. The very first ones were the Czech/German settlers from Stod near Pilsen. Later there were other miners and travellers and explorers, but the major waves of Czech migration to New Zealand came in the 20th century.
Martin Nekola is passionate about exploring the path of Czechs abroad and is currently working on four books at once. He also coordinates a project called The Czechoslovak Talks, which collects inspiring life stories of Czechs abroad.