Ten Pound Pom
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Between 1945 and 1982 around one and a half million people emigrated to Australia under an assisted migration scheme. I was one of them. When I was 12 years old, my family and I travelled on a P&O liner visiting exotic ports on a 12,000-mile trip of a lifetime. For my parents, the cost of the voyage was 10 pounds each. My brother and I travelled for free.
This is my immigration story. (Carole Wilkinson) |
Before Reading
Ten Pound Poms (or Ten Pound tourists) is a colloquial term used in Australia and New Zealand to describe British subjects who migrated to Australia or New Zealand after the Second World War. The Government of Australia initiated the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme in 1945.The Assisted Passage Migration Scheme was created in 1945 by the Chifley Government and its first Minister for Immigration, Arthur Calwell, as part of the "Populate or Perish" policy. It was intended to substantially increase the population of Australia and to supply workers for the country's booming industries. In return for subsidising the cost of travelling to Australia—adult migrants were charged only ten pounds sterling for the fare (hence the name; in 1945 pounds, equivalent to £389 in 2015), and children were allowed to travel free of charge—the Government promised employment prospects, housing and a generally more optimistic lifestyle. However, on arrival, migrants were placed in basic hostels and the expected job opportunities were not always readily available.
Watch the following short video, advertising the scheme to the British ...
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Read the story, pausing to discuss and explain as you go.
Discussion
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Reading and Discussion |
Book Layout
How does the layout of this book affect the readability of the text? Consider the size of the illustrations and the text layout and how they work together to draw the readers attention to certain parts of the book.