ten pound Pom

Meanings

1. Synonym of ten pound tourist.

1. An assisted immigrant to Australia or New Zealand from Britain, from the decades following World War II.

Etymology

From ten + pound (“unit of currency”) + pom (“British person”); compare ten pound tourist. An allusion to the immigrant′s contribution (in sterling) paid for passage to Australia under an assisted immigration scheme, the remainder being paid by the Australian government. The scheme operated from 1946 to 1982; in 1973 the immigrant contribution was increased to £75.