In August 2022 around 200 people headed to Tilbury Docks in Essex to discover the stories of the Ten Pound Poms, who traveled from Tilbury Port to Port Adelaide to start a new life in Australia, in the form of a brand new performance by Time Will Tell Theatre.

We then headed to the South Australian Maritime Museum in Adelaide to perform the play to our friends in Australia.

Time Will Tell presented a special promenade performance, devised alongside community participants in Essex and Australia. Performed in both the UK and Australia, the piece explored stories of the Ten Pound Poms against a wider background of people throughout history dreaming of travel, of far-off places, of success and happiness, excitement and fulfillment.

Artist Lata Upadhyaya also presented ‘Populate or Perish’, a series of new work based on the experiences of migrants that left the UK to start a new life in Australia, representing their real life experience of each stage. Part of this new series of work traveled to Australia to be displayed in the South Australian Maritime Museum, with a view to becoming a permanent part of the State History Collection of South Australia.

Ten Pound Poms was an Essex Cultural Diversity Project and Creative Estuary co-commission, working in collaboration with Port Enfield Adelaide Council, History Trust of South Australia and Tilbury on the Thames Trust. It is funded by Arts Council England, The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport funds the Cultural Development Fund which is administered by Arts Council England.

Acknowledgements
We’d like to thank the following:

Project Team
Kathy Hipperson and Simon Kirk, Time will Tell Theatre
Lata Upadhyaya, Essex Cultural Diversity Project Commissioned Artist
Indi Sandhu, Project Lead, ECDP Creative Director
Giles Tofield, ECDP Strategic Lead & Cultural Engine CIC
Jo Nancarrow, ECDP Digital Lead & Admin

UK Partners
Tilbury on the Thames Trust, Lucy Emma Harris
Port of Tilbury – Sheena Allsopp

UK Funders & Co-Commissioners
Creative Estuary – Laurence Taylor
Arts Council England

Adelaide Partners:

History Trust of South Australia
Paul Rees, Head of Museums, Marketing and Major Events
Dr Adam Paterson, Manager Curatorial
Suzanne Redman, Acting Public Programs Coordinator

Maritime Museum Port Adelaide
Bruno Davids, Visitor Engagement Manager

Adelaide Funders:

City of Port Adelaide Enfield
Summar Hipworth, Arts & Culture Coordinator
Cat Conidi, Placemaking and Activation Leader