It was in the 1950s that this journey half way across the world really caught the imagination of the British public. This was as a result of an assisted passage scheme introduced by the Australian government, designed to encourage immigration from the UK and provide labour for their post-war economy. The ‘ten pound Pom’ was born.
For those citizens emigrating down under, a one way ticket from the UK to Australia cost just £10, £110 less than for tourists, while those under 18 years travelled free. The terms? Travellers had to stay for at least two years or pay the own way home, full fare.
As this was one of our regular routes, P&O Cruises played a lead role in transporting these ‘ten pound Poms’ to and from Australia, specifically building 15 passenger liners to meet the demand. In total, more than 1 million Britons were tempted to warmer climes through the scheme, which ended in the mid 1970s. It was one of the largest planned migrations of the 20th century.