Ten Pound Pom is the sometimes affectionate, sometimes not so affectionate, name given to the British migrants who came to Australia through the Australian government's assisted passage migration scheme, where it cost them 10 pounds for a ticket to Australia.
Imagine that - paying just 10 pounds to move to the other side of the world.
1233's Natalie Holland is a descendant of a Ten Pound Pom; her mother, Yvonne, came to Australia with her parents and sisters in 1965 as a part of the post-war migration scheme. After the death of her grandfather a few years ago, Natalie realised she had never asked the question - why did he bring his family to Australia?
Luckily, her mother was able to answer a few of the questions. But before she dug deeper into why her family, and other Brits, ended up here is Australia, Natalie spoke with Professor Alistair Thompson, from Monash University, co-author of "Ten pound Poms : Australia's invisible migrants", to get some background on the assisted passage scheme.
Natalie also spoke to other Ten Pound Poms about what brought them to Australia. Like Yvonne, Phil Bates came to Australia as a small child with his parents. Katherine Collins made the trip, in similar circumstances, as a teenager. Ken Stowe also came over as a teenager, but without his parents, in the Big Brother scheme. Ron Owen brought his young family over in the Ten Pound Pom scheme, returned to England after a few years, and eventually returned again to Australia. And John and Stella Savory came out as newlyweds, setting up their family and life in Newcastle, Tamworth and Bundaberg.
Here you can listen to their stories, their memories, and their experiences as Ten Pound Poms. Find out why they came, and why they stayed.
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