Ten Pound Pom.

[Captain Kong]

When I was on the GEORGIC in 1955, we took 3,000 £10 POMS to Fremantle, Melbourne and Sydney. Bet they were glad to get off.
Ten Passengers to a cabin, families split up, all females in one and all males in another.
The Catering Staff were all from Walton Gaol, No one would join her in Liverpool and we had the passengers onboard for a week alongside the Landing Stage, Cunard paid the women 12 shillings a day to do the cooking and waiting on.
Then they went to Walton Gaol and asked if there were any Seamen Catering Staff amongst the residents for a voyage to Australia, All volunteered. so they took 200 and brought them down to the ship in coaches, As soon as the last one walked up the gangway we let go.
The women passengers carried on working all the way to OZ on the 12 shillings a day, So I guess these were known as 12 Bob Poms.
Then the Cons all went on the ale in the PIG, and were battling all the way to Sydney, Three were Gaoled in Cape Town for Ten Years, for attempted Murder and another gaoled in Melbourne for 11 Years for cutting a mans throat, 22 left in gaol in Fremantle, and a load in Melbourne and again in Sydney.
They all started work when we loaded 3,000 Troops of 2 RAR for the War in Malaya.
apart from that she was a happy ship.
Brian.

[Jim Brady]

Brian that was the same trip where you ended up with 28 guitars in your cabin that Jossie Peters had confiscated off the guitarists down the glory hole wasn't it.LOL.
Regards.
Jim.B.

[Captain Kong]

HI jim
thats right, he hated guitars, No one argued with Jossie, he took then away and he said to me , `Have you got a guitar?¬ I said no, so he handed me two then again and again until our cabin was full of them, I left them in the Pig when we got back to liverpool, but I did keep one, But after 62 years I CAN NOW PLAY THREE CORDS.
Cheers
Brian