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• 1 2015-11-14T21:06:58-08:00 Passengers 17 plain 2015-12-15T06:17:53-08:00 The majority of the population that travelled to Australia was considered the "worthy poor." This class of people consisted of farmers and agricultural laborers.  Because of their economic status, the trip to Australia would have been too expensive for them to consider.However, the English and Australian governments provided assistance for the four month voyage.Between the years 1848-1859, assisted immigration to Victoria, the state of Australia housing Melbourne, saw a peak of 86%. The governments had to offer an incentive for workers to find a new home in Australia. A cheaper fare, shorter voyage, and increasing connections to family and friends in America enticed a large number of emigrants.  The total cost of the trip depended on the size of the family traveling and their ages. Children were cheaper than adults. Agricultural workers received the best assistance. However, this caused problems because it was not always clear as to who was an agricultural laborer. Many people in the working class had various skills and often worked wherever they could find a job. Here, we see the passenger list for the Clarence on its voyage from London to Melbourne in 1871-1872 was kept by Ralph Gallilee Huggup, midshipman. The laboring poor were somewhat literate because they were taught to read the bible, newspapers, and periodicals. However, many could not write because that required an extra year at school. Children usually did not take this extra year to study because their families needed them to work.