The £10 ticket to another life

[margarita]

I came across this on the BBC website

http://tinyurl.com/3ey55f

and wondered if any of the forum members had gone to Australia this way.

How did your experiences compare with those of the people interviewed?

Maggie

[harfin]

That would take more space here than I'm sure Bo Peep would allow me. I have emailed my comments to the Beeb though, should they choose to use it.

Alan

[GeoffD]

Not touching this one with a 40 foot pole.|hug|

[Peter_uk_can]

I am a member of one of the many "nearly" families. I was in my early teens. My sister, and her soon husband to be, were really keen on the idea.
I can remember my dad being all excited but Mum never seemed to have her heart in the idea. "Too far", "Away from the family" all too familiar reasons that I have heard so often over the years.

I lived on a Council estate in Barnsley and there were quite a few folks there who were going to go. In the following years I would hear of those who had come back because they missed the dark, cold, gloom, but others stayed in Australia and would only come back for a visit, which they appeared to get over with as quick as possible.

For me at least, it has remained a "what if", but now having moved from the UK I can better understand what makes people either stay or leave their new country.

[Geoff Rogers]

I left England in June 1962 with my parents and siblings and was back home in time for Christmas that year. A wonderful trip out through the Suez Canal and a return trip via the Panama Canal, 11 weeks in total at sea, which as it turned out was very useful for geography lessons. Also we all had the best suntans deep in the middle of winter. We ended up at Palm Beach on the Queensland Gold Coast and my Dad couldn't find a decent job there and so one night we all sat round the dinner table and took a vote on returning. My Mum being Australian was the only one to want to stay understandably and so a £10 (x2) outward trip turned out to be a very expensive trip indeed. As we returned home within 2 years of arriving the outward trip had to be paid for along with the homeward trip.

Geoff Rogers

[David Tuson]

My wife, 4-year old son and I came to New Zealand in 1974 on one of these deals. We were originally due to travel by boat but because of the length of time having medicals, x-rays, personal records verified etc., etc the company I was going to work for asked for urgency so we flew!!!

My mother said New Zealand was full of people in grass skirts carrying spears - so that added to the romance. The reality - milk 4cents a pint, bread 10c a loaf, electricity bills $10 a quarter. And only 45 minutes drive to South Pacific beaches (we moved to Rotorua) - life was wonderful.

We went back to the UK in 1976 for a holiday - I'd only been on the ground 30 minutes when I wanted to go back to New Zealand - London airport was filthy, litter everywhere. We've been back to the UK every 4 or 5 years since 1976.

So 34 years later - it was the best 'cheap flight' we ever made. Our children have had a great upbringing and we've seen many parts of the world that we could never have afforded had we stayed in the UK.

BUT - if the oppprtunity came around again my wife wouldn't have made the big move - she's missed the families growing up, the weddings, the new arrivals and the few deaths. And I miss not being able to pop into the local records offices for my research.

David

[sarahsmurf]

My dads uncle went on one of these £10 deals along with his wife and 2 children in 1959. They lost contact with each other in the 1980's and (with the help of the net) got in contact through email with his cousin over xmas. They have not been back to visit the UK since they left and now dads cousin has children of her own over in oz :-) .

[June]

1951 mum, dad, brother and me came to Australia on one of those converted troop ships, None of us ever went back. I will be brief as poss. Arrived Friday, bought a newspaper Saturday and all of us started work on Monday. We combined our wages and 9 months or so later we moved into our own house. Married another migrant and two years later, we too moved into our own house. Thanks dad!

June