Why are the English referred to as Poms...?

Question

Why do you Aussies refer to us as Poms... What's thenhistory of the phrase?

Answer 1

I think that might be the best explanation, although it is taken from NZ:
Pom, pommy or pommie were originally
Australian terms, first recorded there 1912, for
an immigrant from Britain, especially England.
‘Pommy’ was first recorded from within New
Zealand in the 1920s, ‘pom’ from 1946. They
did not replace the usually non-derogatory
New Zealand ‘homey’ as the common
colloquial term for ‘Briton’ until World War 2.
The derogatory ‘pongo’, originally applied to
British soldiers, also came into general use
during that war.The words derive from a
wordplay associating ‘pomegranate’ (also from
1912 in Australia, and pronounced ‘pommy’
or ‘pummy’ ‘grannit’), a name for a British
immigrant, with the Australian rhyming series
‘immigrant’, ‘Jimmygrant’ (New Zealand 1845,
Australia 1859), ‘Pommy Grant’ or ‘pummy
grant’ (the last two recorded in Australia from
1912-13 but not in New Zealand); thence to
the elliptical or familiar forms ‘pom’ and
‘pommy’. Unlikely derivations (that is, ‘not
supported by evidence’) include: ‘Prisoners of
Mother England’; ‘Permit of Migration Ireland
or England’; ‘Pompey’, naval slang for
Portsmouth; rhyming slang for ‘Tommy’; and
French slang ‘paumé’, ‘lacking in energy’.
Compounds and derivatives include
‘whingeing pom’ (Australia 1962, New Zealand
1985), for a stereotypically complaining British
immigrant, ‘Pomland’ (1974), ‘Pomgolia’
(1976), ‘Pongolia’ (1967), ‘pommie-bashing’
(1987), ‘Pommy bastard’ (1940) and
‘pommyism’ (1920), the assumption of an air
of superiority.
Roger Hall’s play Prisoners of Mother England
(1979) is a recent literary use of the term and
treatment of immigration from Britain as a
central theme.

Here in New Zealand, we don't take it as an offense, I'm a Kraut, my colleagues are Poms, Paddies, Springboks, Slitties and what ever.
But we're all becoming Kiwis somehow, sooner or later.

You may also refer to the following page for more explanation and other words used for British:
http://www.answers.com/topic/alternative-words-for-british

Answer 2

I don't think it's fair to call Australians convicts. Yes few prisoners from England were banished to Australia as a punishment but those are old stories. If you look at country Australia it is full of nice people. It's a free country. That's why many Indians and Sri Lankans live there enjoying ultimate freedom and facilities. It's one of the countries in the world which has the best living conditions. I know the same can be said about England. In fact that's why England and Australia are the two countries where most number of Sri Lankans after taking the permanent citizenship. As for the Poms claim it's sort of mocking the queen. It's more of a mockery than an insult. England should be proud of the royalty anyway because believe it or not even my grand mother respects the hell out of the Queen because she spent most part of her young age when the English Queen ruled our countries.

Answer 3

There are 2 theories

1) Prisoners sent to Australia were given pomegranates to avoid scurvy on the voyage ..... though this conflicts with Americans calling us Limeys because sailors ate limes for the same reason

2) Comes from the convicts we sent there that had Prisoner Of Her Majesty on their prison uniforms (POHM - which became POM)

IT HAS NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH THE FRENCH FOR APPLE OR POTATO

Answer 4

Poms comes from the French word for potato "pomme de terre" and it refers to the vast amounts of potatoes consumed by the English every year.

Answer 5

You got me!! I heard that Limmie's was given to them, because lime was used by the sailors to rub on their body to avoid getting their skin infected. But Poms? I wish u luck on that one..

Answer 6

I was always told that it meant Prisionor Of Mother England. Im not sure why, but i suspect it wasnt meant as an affectionate term. These days its just one of those words that has been passed down and is like saying "Aussie" i guess.

Answer 7

I thought everyone called you Limeys because the sailors ate limes to prevent scurvy???

Answer 8

I asked this question not long ago.
Here is the link to the answers I got. They are more detailed than any of the answers here so far.

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AnSUy7qo3D7ni1NJyIwclyrg5gt.?qid=20061022024956AAy0T8Y

Answer 9

because of apples basically the french for apple is pom