In a previous article, you will have read about some of the famous Brits who have emigrated to Australia, such as former prime ministers Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott, along with three of the founder-members of AC/DC.
At the time of the latest UK census in 2021, Office for National Statistics data confirms that there were currently 126,316 Aussies living in the UK. While this figure is far lower than the million Brits currently in Australia, it is still a sizeable presence.
The links between the two countries are strong, and it is no surprise that many people have made the journey from Australia and either settled in the UK permanently, or at least spent a decent part of the time in the UK.
As you would expect, the numbers include several famous figures. Here are just six who have made the journey across the globe.
1. Barry Humphries
While he is probably best-known for his comedic creation, Dame Edna Everage, Barry Humphries was an iconic and influential comedian, actor, author, and satirist.
After growing up in Melbourne, he moved to London in 1959 at the start of the satire boom driven by the Beyond the Fringe team, including Peter Cook and Dudley Moore.
Humphries started to gain attention as a comedian when he appeared at Cook’s Establishment Club in the early 1960s and then with his comedic creation, Barry McKenzie, a typical innocent Australian bloke abroad, who appeared in Private Eye and several films.
He was best known for writing and playing his stage and television characters Dame Edna and “Australian cultural attaché”, Sir Les Patterson.
While his characters brought him international renown, he was widely respected amongst his peers as a satirical genius and comedic writer.
Although he moved back to Australia in the 1970s. he spent much time in the UK, where Dame Edna became close to becoming a national treasure with her own TV show and frequent guest appearances on chat shows.
2. Germaine Greer
The ground-breaking and radical feminist writer, Germaine Greer, was born in Melbourne in 1939 and attended university both there and in Sydney. She then won a prestigious scholarship to continue her studies at Cambridge University in the mid-60s.
She worked in television and as a journalist for a series of radical and satirical publications, including International Times and Private Eye.
It was her ground-breaking book, The Female Eunuch, that made her internationally famous, and which is widely regarded as one of the most influential books of the 20th century.
Since then, she has published a series of books on a range of subjects from Shakespeare and artistic criticism to conservation. The latter subject now takes up much of her time, as she protects large tracts of land in both UK and Queensland.
3. Clive James
Like Germaine Greer, Clive James was born in 1939, and was a contemporary of hers at Sydney University, where they were both members of a radical subculture known as “The Push”.
He emigrated to the UK in 1962, and lived there for the rest of his life, until his death in 2019.
From a UK perspective, he made his name and became widely well-known in the somewhat unlikely field of television criticism. As the TV critic for The Observer from 1972 to 1982, he is widely credited with turning a normally mundane part of any newspaper into a comedic artform.
However, while he was popularly known as a TV critic and presenter, he was highly respected as a poet, author and literary critic, right up until his death.
4. John Pilger
There was clearly something in the water in immediate pre-war Australia, because like both Germaine Greer and Clive James, John Pilger was also born in 1939!
He started his journalistic career in a series of trainee roles with various Sydney newspapers.
He emigrated to the UK in 1962 (the same year as James) and started to make a name for himself as an investigative left-wing journalist, primarily at the Daily Mirror, which was then the best-selling daily newspaper in the UK.
He also spent time making documentary films about some of the issues he was writing about, and it was one of these – Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia – that is widely regarded today as one of the most famous and impactful documentaries ever made.
While he frequently returned to Australia to work, including making a series of documentaries about the treatment of Indigenous Australians, the UK remained his home until his death in 2023.
5. Craig Revel-Horwood
Craig Horwood (Revel is actually his middle name) was born in Ballarat in Victoria in 1965.
He started his career as a dancer in Melbourne, then moved to London in 1989 to take advantage of the greater opportunities available there and to dance competitively.
He is best known in the UK as a judge on the long-running BBC dancing series Strictly Come Dancing which is now in its 20th year.
Noted for being the harshest judge, and for his often trenchant criticism, he has appeared in all but one edition since its inception.
Outside his work in television, he is a widely respected dancer, choreographer, and director.
6. Nick Cave
Cave is one of the most influential and widely respected rock musicians in the world.
After studying art in Melbourne, he moved from Australia to London with his punk band, the Birthday Party, in 1980 and gained a reputation for his aggressive stage presence and willingness to talk to journalists about a range of subjects.
He started a new band, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, after the Birthday Party split in 1982, and subsequently released a stream of well-regarded albums.
After leaving London to live in LA at the height of his fame, after 2005 he split his time between the UK and Brazil, where he spent several years focusing on film scores, acting, and production, although he did find time to duet with fellow-Aussie, Kylie Minogue.
He currently lives in London and is still making music.
Get in touch
If you would like to talk about any plans you have to emigrate from either the UK to Australia, or vice versa and the financial implications of this, please get in touch with us.
Please note
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