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mostly those connected with a sea voyage of many months. As few were willing to take such risks for unknown benefits, the British Government decided to populate the place with convicted criminals who would have no choice in the matter. It would also then allow England to be populated by decent law-abiding Englishmen, free from the criminal classes.

As a result, few freed criminals opted for a return to England, by means of another perilous sea voyage, to an uncertain future (and criminal activity, merely to survive), so opted to stay in this strange new land.

This resulted in the slang name of 'Poms' that the Australians use for the British. The convicts would have stencilled on their uniforms P.O.H.M., meaning 'Prisoner Of His Majesty'. Upon sight of a prison ship entering the harbour, the cry would go up, "Here's another bladdy bunch of Poms comin' in!"

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15y ago

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