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Story: English language in New Zealand

Puckerooed page

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Puckerooed page

The designers for Te Ara the Encyclopedia of New Zealand had fun coming up with New Zealand words and phrases for the website's '404 error' page, which users land on if a hyperlink is broken. The New Zealandisms were helpfully glossed for readers unfamiliar with the local lingo. In the end though, Te Ara decided to keep it simple. The error page simply says, 'The page you're looking for has gone up the boohai' – a colloquialism meaning a remote place. Boohai is thought to be a corruption of the place name Pūhoi.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

by Julia Vodanovich

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How to cite this page

Dianne Bardsley, English language in New Zealand – Characteristics of New Zealand English, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/40311/puckerooed-page (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Dianne Bardsley, published 3 December 2012.