Otaki TodayTe Horo potter Mirek Smíšek is held in such high regard by his native Czech people that his historic kilns warranted a visit by the Czech president.
Petr Pavel and his wife, Eva Pavlová, visited the Kilns at Te Horo on December 4. It was a much less formal affair than the meeting earlier in the day with Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro in Wellington, where the president received a pounamu pendant he proudly wore at Te Horo.
President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel and his wife, Eva Pavlová, in front of Mirek Smíšek’s kilns at Te Horo during a visit on December 4.
Photo Ōtaki Today
Petr Pavel told Ōtaki Today that Mirek, who is the only Czech to have received an OBE, was “an important person” in Czech history.
Despite constant drizzle, a strong Czech media presence and a big contingent of security personnel, the European glamour couple enjoyed a relaxed chat with the few invited locals and had a casual cup of tea as they were shown aroound.
The president was invited to make a clay pot on a wheel Mirek had made himself, but preferred to see Eva try her hand, which she gladly did while Petr took photos on his cellphone. The result impressed the potters present.
The president – a retired army general – was in New Zealand as part of a trade and diplomatic delegation.
Mirek Smíšek was born in Czechoslovakia in 1925 and spent most of of the Second World War in labour camps for his anti-Nazi resistance stance. He came to New Zealand in 1951, eventually settling at Te Horo. He died in 2013.
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