#Pommie das free

There was an overriding darkness to the scheme, in line with racist policies that existed in the country. Once out there, they were trapped there, and many had to ride out the two year wait before they could return home, which is when the Australian media began to brand the immigrants “whinging poms”. Then, like any deal that seems too good to be true, there was a catch: migrants had to commit to spending two years in Australia, or they would have to refund the price of the ticket, and a non-subsidised ticket back home would be prohibitively expensive, around £4,200 in today’s money. If you don't agree with our list leave a comment with your opinion :)The Most Shameless Public Flashers of All Time-1. The housing, rather than being white picket fences in lush gardens, were instead migration hostels, often metal Nissen huts or old army barracks.

Then there was the stifling heat, the brutal landscape of where they needed to settle and overwhelming amounts of homesickness. However, when they arrived, The Guardian notes that they were subject to “pommie bashing” and racism from some of the locals, who feared for their jobs.

#Pommie das free

The name the “10 pound poms” is said to have come from the old label attached to British convicts sent to Australia it was, according to the BBC, a play on the word “immigrant”, which sounded like “pomegranate”, shorted to “pom.” The £10 bit was because the one-way ticket (dubbed “the bargain of a lifetime”) out there cost exactly that – around £350 in today’s money, although kids under 19 travelled free – promising a six-week boat journey and help getting settled in this country on the other side of the planet. Two years later, the government of New Zealand also began the project to promote their country to the Brits.Ī mass marketing campaign began in the UK, with billboards promising that Australia was like “Britain in the sun”, but with plenty of job prospects, and with other adverts and brochures showing laughing, sun-kissed families flourishing Down Under, it was easy to see how it would be of great appeal to families looking to escape a grey life in a country trying to rebuild itself after the war. Post-war, there were booming industries in the country, but not enough workers, so the scheme was part of what was known as the “populate or perish” policy. So what was the truth behind this real-life evacuation of more than a million Britons to Australia? Let’s dig in and find out: The backstoryĪfter World War II, Australia and New Zealand were looking to populate their countries, so in 1945 the Government started the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme.