Having travelled 11,000 kilometres (7,000 miles) through New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania, examining the geology along the way Strzelecki returned to England, where he was awarded in May 1846 the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society.

[citation needed] The first settlers from Poland arrived in South Australia in 1856 and settled in the Clare Valley region in a place later called Polish Hill River.

During the period 1980–1991 Australia granted permanent entry to a large number of Polish migrants, many arriving as refugees who soon got a reputation for being hard working.

In 1991, an independent, voluntary organisation was established to inform the Australian public about issues related to Polish history, politics, society and culture.

The immediate trigger for establishing the Australian Institute of Polish Affairs was strong public interest in the historic changes that swept Central Europe in 1989 and led to the collapse of communism.

[6] Melbourne, Victoria, has the largest Polish population in Australia[7][8] which comprises a large part of the city's eclectic multicultural community.