did you ever have the chance of being a ten pound pom?

My best friend went as a ten pound pom in the 1960s. I was tempted to follow her but I had just qualified as a librarian and found that I would be paid less than a man doing the same job. At least in the UK I earned the same salary for the same work. My friends went on to do very well for themselves and now run a big emu farm.

Scribbles My story was similar to yours in that we were set to emigrate to NZ but my mother got pregnant again. She ended up with 6 of us so we never got there and I think there was a lot of regret as we were always financially struggling. A lot of people who did go seem to have been homesick and missed close family but all our family were within 40 miles and we rarely saw them so I can't imagine that would have made much difference. I guess we will never know.

I think most who returned to the UK realised it was not for them very quickly. I had a Scottish friend who stayed here 20 odd years but went back to Scotland in the end. She never settled. A lot depends on where you live at first and who you meet I think. We were lucky in that respect and found people very warm and friendly. You do have to put yourselves out there,though and if you are the shy,retiring type things could be tricky.

My mother's maternal Aunt Marianne or, possibly Mary Anne, emigrated with her family to Australia when my mother was a child. (Mum was born in 1911, so maybe not even a £10 Pom.) She wanted to help my grandmother, who had a very large family, and offered to adopt one of her older daughters. My grandmother refused. They remained in touch, although it must have taken ages for letters to travel such a distance.

I was young woman when some of Aunt Marianne's descendants visited England with their families. My aunties and cousins got on with them really well. As time has gone on we have lost touch as our older generation is no more.

Now that I live in New Zealand, they are all, of course, "just across the ditch" – the "ditch" being about 2,600 miles and a about 5 hours away by plane.

Two Uncles and their families emigrated in 1961. Initially they settled in Queensland. I have photos of them building a log cabin out in the Bush.
Looking back, I admire their determination. They and their wives and children were from an industrial suburb of Birmingham so hardly suited to the conditions there.

Talking to my cousins recently, it appears that one of my uncles was intent on emigrating and gave his wife an ultimatum. "Come with me or I'm going on my own."
With 3 children she had no choice.
She resented it all her life.

The brothers fell out after a few years so they split up and one family moved to New Zealand.
I think they all settled and had a good life. Not sure if it was any better than they would have had if they stayed in the UK but it was certainly different.

My father was a £10 Pom and he had everything organised to go but at the last minute, he was advised there was no accommodation for his wife and child so he was unable to go.
Years later, my husband and I did two camper van tours of Australia and loved the country so much for its wide open spaces and friendly people.We tried to get a work visa but by then we were too old.We had the skills (an engineer and a teacher in my case) but age was not on our side being then in our fifties.
I think this was a case of the one that got away!
Happy travelling everyone and see Australia if you can.

I went out to Melbourne in early 60's to get married. Had met my Aussie husband while we were both working in Germany. Was shocked at how primitive it was compared with here. Luckily we only stayed a couple of years as, although my in-laws' family had been there for centuries, he was unhappy and never fitted back in so thankfully we left. He loves this country and won't even go back down under for a visit. Our children, who were born there, have no desire to go back there, either. Horses for courses, I suppose.

All my relatives except my parents went out to Melbourne on the £10 pom. My cousin had her first birthday on the ship and was invited to sit in her high chair at the Captain's table.

I often wonder what it would have been like especially as they all did very well. Sadly I have lost touch with them all now.

When we were newly wed my late DH wanted to emigrate to Australia but I never wanted to live on the other side of the world.
I had a friend at school who went in the 1960s. She said the were put in something like nissen huts and the food was awful. It took some time to get a house. They came back after a couple of years as her sister need healthcare and there was no NHS. A couple of years later they went back and stayed there.

One NZ cousin and his DW are coming to stay in a few weeks.
They come most years as she went out as a young nurse, met my cousin, settled down, had a family etc
One of their sons now works in Scotland is married with DC so his parents visit when they can. I think his mum likes to taste Britain again though her parents have died and there's an elderly cousin

My df wanted to take us but he failed medical ,he died not long after I was 4 so luckily we didn't go has mum would have been left with us 6girls alone away from family.

My parents made the decision in 1957 - we kids found out about it when we got home from school one day and Mum was packing ! We got to Sydney in a huge heatwave, but nothing put Mum and Dad off. I remember Dad saying "A man could wear shorts every day of his life here - I'm staying", and so we stayed. We've all been back to the UK for visits over the years, but we've all stayed in Oz.

We were keen to go because hubby was a brass bandsman, and a band magazine said a band in Tasmania was very short of players. They offered a place in the band, a rented house, and help finding work, hubby was an engineering toolmaker. As I said above, we didn`t go in the end, but always regretted it.

Delving into my family history I have found some ancestors from the Isle of Harris who were “assisted by the Highland and Island Emigration Society and embarked on board the ship Royal Albert which sailed from Liverpool to Adelaide on 15 August 1855 and arrived 2 December 1855 ‘’. The cost to each family varied between £3 for a single individual to £50 for a large family. My own family also left from Liverpool in 1950 almost a century later.

It's so interesting thinking about those sliding door moments in our family
history. My ancestors all made the decision to migrate to Oz from various parts of the UK in the mid 19th century. They made the months long journey in sailing ships via South Africa, several burying children at sea along the way. They were all working class folk and I do wonder about and admire their bravery and belief in a better life for their families. Most but not all have thrived and I still cherish my UK ancestry and history.

I have two sets of aunts and uncles, my mum's two younger brothers and their wives, who went to Australia as £10 Poms in the 1960's.
One couple live in Victoria and went on to adopt two Australian boys. One cousin still lives there the other has moved to live in the UK.
The other couple split up but both still live in Australia with their new partners.

The problem is if you go and then have children and they grow up there much as you long to come back to the UK it would mean leaving your family behind . We have family in that position . I remember a friend in the 60s who was going to emigrate saying she was all right until her grandfather told her he would never see her again . At that time it was true .

My parents had assisted passage (£10.00) to NZ where I was born. They came back to the UK in the late 50s. I think life was a huge struggle on their return and that they had some regrets about leaving NZ. I have some lovely black and white photos of the return boat trip but sadly no memories.

This is an interesting thread. It's enlightening to hear of the people that regretted immigrating, and those that regretted not going!

My parents immigrated not to Australia, but to Canada in the 50's, although I think Australia was on their research list.
I've never really thought about how they would miss home, although I know my Mum dearly missed her sister back in Jersey.

Many of my Irish relatives emigrated over the years but not to Australia. The USA (Philadelphia was a favourite destination) and Canada mainly. Those who emigrated many years ago mainly stayed out there and made good lives for themselves. But in more recent years they have only stayed a few years and then returned “home”.

When we came we knew that we would not be able to afford to return anyway. Nothing like that as a motivation to make a big effort to settle and fit in ! It was strange at first, of course and it required grit and determination . It was worth it, a hundred times over, as far as my family’s concerned - we have been truly blessed and have had a good life including a few ups and downs, of course.

My great-grandparents emigrated to America in the 1850s but returned within two years. Presumably they didn't like it or were homesick.
A lot of DH's family emigrated to Canada as well as New Zealand, mine to New Zealand and Australia but all before the £10 POM scheme.

A girl I met at college had been to Australia and back twice with several years in between. Her parents couldn’t make up their minds and we’re going back for a third time. She felt torn wanting to be in England when there and in Australia when here. The one thing she didn’t like was animosity from some Australians and being called “a bloody Pom”.

Interesting Avalon as my mother complained about the animosity of some of the Australian men especially her own brother in law in the 50’s. I have few memories of Australia but I do remember snippets of the homeward journey by sea: sleeping on deck and the intense heat sailing through the Red Sea,the crockery all slipping off the table passing through turbulent waters and most vivid of all the ceremony of crossing the line when Neptune chased everyone around as we crossed the Equator. A counsellor friend of mine puts my fear of the sea down to these experiences. Although I have relatives in Australia I have never felt the desire to return.

25Avalon

A girl I met at college had been to Australia and back twice with several years in between. Her parents couldn’t make up their minds and we’re going back for a third time. She felt torn wanting to be in England when there and in Australia when here. The one thing she didn’t like was animosity from some Australians and being called “a bloody Pom”.

Still happens as as my DD was asked that not long ago. She's only been there 25 years 😁 and knows how to deal with remarks like that.
"You got a problem with that?"