Tatura, in Victoria's Goulburn Valley, held one of Australia's largest internment populations during the Second World War — German civilians, Italian nationals, Japanese residents, and eventually families of prisoners of war from across the Pacific theatre. The canteen scrip issued at Camp No. 1 was a practical administrative measure: internees received wages for labour but were prohibited from holding Australian currency, so printed camp tokens substituted for coin within the wire.
Miller's Melbourne printing is workmanlike. The notes circulated in a genuinely closed economy, redeemable only at the canteen, which meant condition varied wildly depending on how long an individual internee remained in the camp.
Tatura, in Victoria's Goulburn Valley, held one of Australia's largest internment populations during the Second World War — German civilians, Italian nationals, Japanese residents, and eventually families of prisoners of war from across the Pacific theatre. The canteen scrip issued at Camp No. 1 was a practical administrative measure: internees received wages for labour but were prohibited from holding Australian currency, so printed camp tokens substituted for coin within the wire.
Miller's Melbourne printing is workmanlike. The notes circulated in a genuinely closed economy, redeemable only at the canteen, which meant condition varied wildly depending on how long an individual internee remained in the camp.