JOAN ORDISH was just 18 years-old when she set-off for a new life in Australia.

But this week, the '£10 Pom' is 'back home' sharing the memories of yester-year with family and friends in Leigh.

It was 1949 when the Ordish family from Wigan Road, Leigh, set their sights on a new horizon.

There were six of them: mum and dad William and Florence, and their children Joan, 18, Doreen, 14, Brian, 11, and Jean, aged five.

They boarded the 'SS Georgic' from Liverpool for a four-week trip to Melbourne where they were told it was "sort of British" and part of the British Empire.

Close on 50 years later, Joan is back in her old haunts with her Aussie husband, Allan Anderson, and their daughter, Gail. The couple are staying for the next two months with Joan's cousin Edna Hindley of Mersey Street. Gail was only able to stay a week because of other commitments,

Joan, now 66, attended St Peter's School in Firs Lane; Manchester Road Girls School and Leigh Commercial College in Bradshawgate, where she studied typing and shorthand.

She said: "Even though I've lived in Australia since I was 18, I always regard Leigh and Britain as my home. I think anyone born and bred here until they were as old as I was when we all left, will always look back on where they were born with nostalgia.

"I remember after mum and dad had been persuaded that it was a better life for their children in Australia. It was hard to leave our friends and, in my case, a boyfriend.

"But it was also a challenge for a family who had gone through the war. "Accommodation in Melbourne, though, was not good. We were sponsored and ours was better than many, but we were still housed in two old air raid shelters which had been home to some chickens. In the winter we were moved into a cramped house.

"We had no money so mum and dad both had to find work quickly."

Dad was a carpenter and he found a job in Melbourne while mum worked in a cafeteria.

"It took me about two years to get over my homesickness but I eventually settled down and made new friends. Then I met Allan when I was 20 years old. We worked at the same firm and later got married."

Allan, 65, a former accountant with Dunlop in Australia, commented: "I like it here and love the English countryside. I may be Australian born and bred but I am still a traditionalist who feels we should retain the old links between Britain and Australia.

"Both countries have been friends for so long that it would be a shame if those links were destroyed by politicians. We share a common heritage and that is one reason why I am delighted to be here."

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