OverSixty July 2023 Digital

ISSUE 5 | JULY 2023 | OVERSIXTY.COM.AU 8 OPINION their own way. !eir dream of “white- washed houses and huge gardens” dis- sipates as they take their "rst look at the “squalor” of the Nissen huts, outdoor communal showers and drop toilets. “!ey lied to us,” says Annie. Most assisted migrants who arrived by ship ended up in these camps, where they could stay while they looked for work and resettled. But those who had trouble "nding work stayed for many months, if not years. Terry, a quali"ed builder, must take any work he is o#ered as long as no Australi- ans want it. His "rst job is digging ditches for a gas pipeline. At work, he is subject to name-calling, ostracism and the threat of violence. Under the scheme, migrants were obli- gated to stay and work in Australia for at least two years to repay their subsidised travel. After this, up to 25% chose to re- turn home. !e challenges faced by British mi- grants were shared by those from many CARMEL PASCALE OPINION T he "rst episode of Ten Pound Poms opens onto a bleak scene. As snow falls against a grey sky in Man- chester, Terry Roberts (Warren Brown) works to repair buildings damaged dur- ing the Second World War. We can barely see him through the smog; the sound of hammering dominates the scene. As it gets louder, it triggers $ashbacks to his time as a prisoner of war. At home, his wife Annie (Faye Marsay) carefully scrapes used tea leaves into a jar, fed up with the sacri"ces and depre- dations of post-war Britain. !at night, while tending to Terry – who has collapsed after another evening at the pub where he has spent their meagre income – Annie seizes on a newspaper advertisement o#ering her family the opportunity to “build a new life in sunny Australia” for only ten pounds. Set in 1956, Ten Pound Poms , a co-pro- duction between the BBC and Stan, tells the story of Britishmigrants as they strug- gle to build new lives in a distant and un- known land. Migration to Australia o#ers the Rob- erts family the promise of a fresh start, “a bright future” in a “modern” country with abundant fresh food, and a brand-new whitewashed house and family car. !e “Ten Pound Pom” scheme was launched in 1945 and continued into the early 1970s. It was just one of Australia’s A new TV show brings to life the tale of British migrants of the 1950s who come to Australia to "nd better lives. But how does this "ctionalised portrayal compare to the reality? other countries. !ese migrants were not only subject to the same onerous visa conditions and racist attitudes, but de- nied the privileges accorded the British: the right to vote, get an Australian pass- port, and receive social security bene"ts. But in the series, these non-British migrants are used only as a backdrop. !eir stories could have given us a much richer picture of hostel life. Instead they make only brief appearances, and even then, often as caricatures, such as the lazy and overly-emotional Italian, Maria (Sarah Furnari). Ten Pound Poms is a pacy, character- driven story grounded inhistorical research. !e series is also very interested in examining the experiences of First Na- tions Peoples, which it does through war veteran Ron Mahoney (Rob Collins) and his community at an old mission station near the hostel. But Ten Pound Poms gives us an ideal- ised portrayal of the migrants’ relation- ship with Ron and the other Aboriginal characters. While the local Australian characters exemplify the racist attitudes of white Australia, the Roberts family’s many interactions with Aboriginal peo- ple are entirely friendly and enlightened. “!ey’re just people,” Annie tells Terry’s racist co-worker. “!ey were here long before you were.” !e series largely skips over Britain’s role in the history of colonisation. Series writer, English screenwriter and playwright Danny Brocklehurst, rightly points out these migrant stories are an important aspect of Australia’s past that have received little attention. But equally important is that this remembering takes account of both Britain and Australia’s imperial past. Despite these $aws, Ten Pound Poms has a cast of characters you’ll want to follow to the end. It will especially ap- peal to the many British migrants – both “back home” and in Australia – who will see their own family histories re$ected in these characters. assisted passage schemes of the post-war era. Most of the 1.5 million Britons who came to Australia until 1981 were part of such a scheme. Australia’s post-war migration program was driven by the imperative to “pop- ulate or perish”. !e Second World War had demonstrated Australia’s vulnerabil- ity to foreign invasion, andmigrants were needed to fuel its burgeoning post-war industrial development and infrastruc- ture projects. But until the 1960s, the White Austral- ia Policy was still very much in place. Australia was still a proud member of the British Empire, with a preference for British migrants. Australia o#ered the Roberts family an opportunity to “work hard, prosper” and own their own home. But once they ar- rive in Australia, their dream of a new life is dealt a blow. As assisted migrants, they are sent straight to a migrant hostel camp, where they will live while earning enough to pay What ‘Ten Pound Poms’ gets right – and wrong – about the British migrant experience in Australia OPINION Carmel Pascale is Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Adelaide’s School of Humanities. !is article originally appeared on theconversation.com • Food, Home and Garden • Health • Advice & True Stories • Culture • Travel • Podcasts • Games, Puzzles and Jokes A U S T R A L I A Visit the Reader’s Digest website at for unique and engaging content www.readersdigest.com.au