Find out about the first Polish settlers, framed in the chronicles of four families who arrived in Lyttelton in 1872 and settled in Canterbury and Banks Peninsula.

Four families: The Kotlowskis, Gierszewskis, Szymanskis and Watembachs were, among others, part of the wave of immigration which saw New Zealand's settler population double to about 500,000 during the 1870s.

The exhibition offers stories of hardship, challenges and achievements while embracing community spirit and the heart-felt determination of eastern origin.