Ten Pound Poms – The Dream Scheme
The £10 Ticket That Reshaped a Nation
After the Second World War, Australia was on a mission to increase its population and industrial labor force, so the government devised the Ten Pound Pom scheme. During the years of 1945–1972, more than one million British citizens migrated by ship to Australia under the scheme, on the promise of an improved lifestyle, plentiful sunshine and abundant job opportunities. The only condition was that they were required to remain in Australia for at least two years; if they left any earlier, the full cost of the original ticket would be payable – a sum of more than £100.
There were a number of P&O (Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company) ships which carried immigrants to their new life, the journey taking around 4 weeks.
‘Populate or Perish’ was a phrase and government policy pioneered by the then Immigration Minister, Arthur Calwell, in 1945, following World War II. It was intended to quickly increase Australia's population through immigration and led to a massive intake of British and European migrants, laying the foundations of today’s multicultural Australia.
From Grey Skies to Golden Shores
For these new expats, the real life experience often didn’t match their expectations, with accommodation very basic and cramped upon arrival. As a result, it is estimated that that approximately 25% of the new migrants returned home within the first two years, earning themselves the colloquial name 'Boomerang Poms'.
This fascinating time in history inspired my 'Ten Pound Poms' painting, which comprises a vintage black and white photograph of the SS Orsova ship, a £10 banknote and an antique Australian gold brooch of Australia map with a boomerang and a sapphire-set star.
My own story is the opposite of this, having been born in Australia and then taken to the UK on one of these ships, at the age of 2½, by my English mother, where I remained until the late 1990s until I returned home to Sydney.
Learning the history of the Ten Pound Pom scheme, it quickly becomes clear how much and how fast both Australia and the UK have changed over the past few decades. Barely recognisable, but still the strong connection remains between the two lands.
