What does Ten Pound Poms mean as Michelle Keegan stars in new Australia-based BBC drama
14.05.2023 - 20:05
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The nights may be getting lighter meaning the weekends are feeling longer but still nothing beats settling down on a Sunday night with a box set or drama. This weekend, specifically from Sunday (May 14), the BBC will be airing its new original series, Ten Pound Poms.
The six-part series will begin on BBC One at 9pm, with new episodes airing each Sunday for six weeks. But for those who like to binge their TV series, all episodes will be available on BBC iPlayer as a box set after the first episode airs.
But what's it about? It follows a group of Brits as they leave dreary post-war Britain in 1956 to embark on a life-altering adventure on the other side of the world. For only a tenner, they have been promised a better house, better job prospects and a better quality of life by the sea in sun-soaked Australia.
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But life down under isn’t exactly the idyllic dream the new arrivals have been promised. Struggling with their new identity as immigrants, we follow their triumphs and pitfalls as they adapt to a new life in a new country far from Britain and familiarity.
As for what Ten Pound Poms means, it is a colloquial term used to describe British citizens who migrated to Australia and New Zealand after the Second World War.
The Government of Australia initiated the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme in 1945 and the Government of New Zealand initiated a similar scheme in July 1947. It formed part of the Australian 'Populate or Perish' policy intended to substantially increase the population of Australia and to supply workers for the country’s booming industries.
The Ten Pound Poms scheme attracted more than a million migrants from the British Isles between