Waitangi exhibition marks 175 years of Chinese settlement

Three generations of the Gock family on their watermelon patch - one of the photos from the 'Being Chinese in Aotearoa,' exhibition at Waitangi.

A new exhibition, Being Chinese in Aotearoa, has opened at Te Kōngahu Museum of Waitangi, exploring the stories of Chinese New Zealanders over the last 175 years.

Almost 100 rarely seen photographs tell the story, from the first settler, Appo Hocton, who arrived in 1842, to migrants in the 2000s, from pioneering gold miners and merchants to architects and entrepreneurs, from early settlers to established communities.

Appo Hocton, the first Chinese immigrant to call New Zealand home.

The exhibition, which is on loan from Auckland War Memorial Museum, where it was launched in February, includes a series of comic-book artworks by renowned graphic artist Ant Sang (bro'Town, The Dharma Punks) and writer Helene Wong (Being Chinese: A New Zealander's Story).

The comics follow an 11-year-old boy and his grandmother as they meet some of Auckland's most inspiring Chinese artists, entrepreneurs, musicians, athletes and more.

Waitangi Treaty Grounds curatorial manager Caitlin Timmer-Arends said she was proud to share the important and long history of the Chinese community in New Zealand.

"They had such an important impact on early New Zealand life, and we're thankful to Auckland Museum for curating such an excellent exhibition," she said.

Entry to Being Chinese in Aotearoa: A photographic journey is free for Friends of Waitangi and day pass holders.

The exhibition opened on Saturday and will remain on display until March 31.