A family separated by 10,000 miles and nearly half a century came together for an emotional reunion in Maidstone.

The four siblings – Mike, Chris and Rob Powell and Margaret ‘Marg’ Gurr – had not all been under the same roof since 1971 when they met for the christening of Marg’s first-born, John, in Bearsted.

She emigrated to Australia in 1968, followed by the youngest of the four, Rob, in 1973. The remaining brothers remained in England, with Chris, 66, in Iwade and Mike, 68, living in Knowle Road, Maidstone.

But last week they were reunited for the first time in 45 years when Marg, 71, and Rob, 61, made the 10,000 mile-trip back from Melbourne to their hometown.

Mike Powell, a retired software engineer, said: “It was a really nice occasion and very unusual for us all to be together. Over the years we have seen each other but never had all four of us together. There was a lot of chatting, eating and drinking.

“A lot of things have been very different, the weather and the traffic for instance, but in many ways they have been the same despite the distance.”

The family was together for a week, during which time they took a trip to Holland and spent days catching up and meeting new family members. Marg moved Down Under, originally only for two years in search of better opportunities, but never came back.

Hearing about their new lives, Rob followed, and was on the last ship of Ten Pound Poms – the name given to British people who received subsidised travel to encourage them to populate Australia.

In the intervening years while the family was separated, seven more children were born, and the siblings now have six grandchildren between them – the youngest of which was born just a week before the reunion.