Catalog
Voucher - 1 Penny Hay Internment Camp; No.6 Camp Officers' Mess
| Issuer | Hay Internment Camp, No. 6 Camp Officers' Mess |
|---|---|
| Year | |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Penny (1⁄240) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Plain blue-green paper with all text printed in black letterpress. The issuer inscription "No. 6 Camp Officers' Mess" runs across the upper portion, with the large denomination numeral and suffix "1d." centred in the lower half. The left edge bears a perforated border, consistent with separation from a counterfoil or booklet. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Entirely plain blue-green paper with no printed text, vignettes, or other markings. The right edge carries a perforated border mirroring that on the obverse, indicating the voucher was detached from a bound series. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Hay Internment Camp operated from 1940 to 1946 in outback New South Wales, holding a mix of civilian internees — largely German and Italian nationals, and some Japanese — along with prisoners of war transferred from Britain under an arrangement that proved politically awkward for both governments. The Officers' Mess vouchers were an internal scrip system, segregating purchasing power within the camp hierarchy and preventing direct cash from circulating among prisoners. No. 6 Camp was one of three compounds at the Hay facility.
Blue-green paper was a common choice for low-denomination camp scrip, partly to distinguish denominations at a glance and partly because the tinted stock was harder to reproduce with materials available inside the wire.