Heritage

Embark on an iconic adventure

P&O Cruises first introduced voyages to and from Australia in the 1930s; then in the 1950s, the Australian government designed an assisted passage scheme to encourage immigration from the UK and provide labour for their country’s post-war economy. The ‘ten pound Pom’ was born. For citizens emigrating down under, a one way adult 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 their own way home, full fare.

As this was one of our regular routes, P&O Cruises played a lead role and built 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 immigrations of the 20^th century.

Paul MacBride was 14 when he arrived in Sydney on Australia Day in 1962.

‘We sailed on Arcadia from Tilbury Docks on 23 December 1961. I remember disappearing each day with the other kids and only coming back for meals. The atmosphere was great and the ports exciting. I particularly remember going through the Suez Canal and Aden in Yemen. It was so different from England. Our first stop in Australia was Fremantle. From here, people were dropped off all around Australia, including Melbourne and Brisbane.’

Admittedly, for today’s paying passenger the fare has increased slightly, but the adventure is still as grand.