Voucher - 3 Pence Hay Camp 7; Confinement Voucher

Hay Camp 7 was one of three internment camps established at Hay in western New South Wales from late 1940, holding civilian enemy aliens — predominantly German and Italian nationals — alongside a smaller number of Jewish refugees who had fled Nazi persecution, a grotesque administrative irony that was not lost on those confined there. The internal voucher system replaced any use of Australian legal tender within the wire, a standard practice across wartime internment camps designed to prevent the accumulation of currency that might fund escape attempts.

Printed on-site at the camp rather than by an outside commercial printer, which accounts for the rudimentary card stock construction. Hay's extreme isolation — over 700 kilometres from Sydney — made it one of the most psychologically punishing postings for guards and internees alike.