Thomas and Agnes Kubala left Austria in 1874, travelling on the English ship Stonehouse to Canterbury with their two children, Roman and Agnes.
The couple settled in Oxford in North Canterbury and their family increased to five children.
Gore came into the picture when their daughter Amelia married Joe McLaughlan, who worked on and later managed a property in the Gore district.
The family followed, and so the Kubala family laid their roots.
Now, 150 years later, the family has spread their wings far and wide, with descendants living in Australia, Auckland, and all around the country.
On Saturday they returned to look back at a family history inextricably tied to the Gore district. Organiser Barbara Trussler said it was a magical day of reconnecting for some, and introductions for others.
"I think this is very special, actually.
"I’m quite family orientated, so I like to mix with a lot of family, meet up and catch up with everybody.
Even with more than 140 people present, Mrs Trussler said it was a drop in the bucket, compared to the potential size of the descendants, which they were trying to puzzle out.
"If you went through all the information, there would be over a thousand plus. I don’t know.
"That’s what we’re trying to get, information for the new people who aren’t on the family tree.
"We want them to add to it, people and things we might have missed," she said.
Young and old mixed, and Margaret Wilson, the oldest living descendant at 91, met the youngest, 1-year-old Seb Kubala.
Mrs Wilson, who organised a lot of the living history of the Kubala family, said her family’s legacy was one to be proud of.
"The legacy, it’s strength, tenacity, knowledge, learning and, dare I say it, I am Catholic and they brought their faith over with them.
"That was one of their strengths, one of the major things," she said.
