Hay Camp currency with FaithInternment camp currency souvenirs by chaplains of two religions by Tony James

CURRENCY notes of the internmentcamps at Hay have been researched

with great enthusiasm. The notes areeagerly sought after by both Australianbanknote collectors who collect bank-notes of their own country, and those whoconcentrate on military, prisoner of war(POW) and internment camp currency.Numismatists have been fortunateenough to have had access to the recordsof two collections that are outstandingfor their provenance and rarity. Theephemera and information about theoriginal owners of the notes has beendocumented by family and researchers,for which we may be really grateful. Thenotes mentioned in this article belongedto two visiting chaplains of different faithsand other currency is included to showthe progression of camp currency, as lifein Hay Internment camp number 7 wasplayed out particularly during the earlydays of the internees’ incarceration.

Mementos and ephemerarecords saved

For those who have never visited theHay plains and the town that is on thebanks of the Murrumbidgee River, halfway between Sydney and Adelaide, adistance of 1400 kilometres. The terrainis a flat, almost treeless, saltbush plain,with a magnificent 180 degree skyline.My abiding memory of the town is thewidth of the main street. Required, I wastold, so that during the halcyon days ofthe wool industry, a team of oxen couldturn their cart around without difficulty(this could be up to eight pairs in harness).When the chaplaincy visitors paid theirpastoral visits to the camps, they receivedmementoes. While being concerned withspiritual as well as personal needs of theirflocks they appreciated the little gifts thatwere pressed upon them. Examinationof the items and research provide someinteresting insights into the men whovisited the camp and their humanity.

The camp situationCommenced in early 1940 the camp

was still being completed as new inmatesmarched in on 7th September 1940.Therewere three compounds,numbered 6,7 and8 in the camp.Together they held approx-imately 3,000 prisoners and internees.Camp 6 held Australian-Italian internees.Camp 7 was supposedly entirely Jewish,holding internees off the Dunera fromthe United Kingdom, (although we shallsee that there were Christian interneesin this camp). Camp 8 had a mixed popu-lation of Germans and Austrians whowere Catholics, Protestants, Communistsand a few Jews.

The camp was visited by several offic-ial visitors as well as members of differ-ent religious faiths. The governmentinspectors organised by the Minister ofthe Army, Percy C. Spender, includedColonel W. B. Simpson, Major J. McCahonand later Dr H. O. Lethbridge as anAssistant to the Official Visitors. Theirreports of visits to this and other campscan be located in the National Archives.

There were other organisations thatconducted inspections and visits to thecamps at Hay. Rabbi Leib Falk reportedto the Jewish Welfare Society after a visitfrom 9th to 12th December 1940. Hismain concern was pastoral, as he wasaware of the terrible conditions sufferedby the internees on the Dunera, and dur-ing his association with the inmates ofthe camp he encouraged frequent andregular visitation by the Welfare Societyand application for release by inmatesas they sought review of their cases.

Representatives of the Society ofFriends (Quakers) made a visit on 22-23January 1941.The visitors were Mr AlfredC. Clarke and Miss Margaret Pierce ofMelbourne, who attended not only tothe needs of the internees but also tomembers of the Garrison. The visitorshad been referred to internees who hadbeen helped by Friends in England.They

made a written report to their MelbourneMeeting of The Friends. The report islodged with the La Trobe Collection, Lib-rary of Victoria.

Another to visit was the priest, FatherJ. Carroll from the local Catholic church.He supported internee Father WalterKonig, a German Jesuit priest who hadbeen caught up in the British alien round-up in May 1940 while teaching at a coll-ege in Sheffield, England. Father Koniglooked after the Catholic internees. Heestimated that there were three percentCatholic, seven percent Protestant andthe remainder Jews.

A Miss Margaret Holmes, secretaryof the Students Christian Union, attendedto educational needs of the internees, asshe organised books, writing equipment,matriculation enrolment and later uni-versity entrance for those in the camp.

Rabbi Leib Aisack Falk -Commissioned asChaplain to the Australian Military Forcesduring WWII and to State prisons as well asto the Jewish internees of Camp 7 Hay.

Hay Internment Camp, 1941. Detail from a watercolour by Theodor Engel.

Rabbi Leib Aisack FalkDuring the First World War, Rabbi

Falk had served as Jewish chaplain inthe British forces and when the JewishLegion was formed in 1917, he becamechaplain of the 38th battalion of the RoyalFusiliers. After World War I, he and hisfamily came to Australia and during histenure at the Great Synagogue in Sydney,Falk was appointed Chaplain to the Aust-ralian Military Forces (AMF) in 1935. In1942 he became senior chaplain to theAMF Eastern Command, a position heheld until 1952. Rabbi Falk combined hispastoral duties with his office as an exec-utive member of the Australian JewishWelfare Society. The rabbi was active inhis duties as chaplain at Hay and workedhard for the release of internees. Wellknown for his addresses given on AnzacDay, he was also chaplain to the NSWAssociation of Jewish Ex-Servicemenand Women.

Rev Franklin E. AlcornReverend Franklin Edwin Alcorn, a

minister of the Church of Christ was, fora time, a chaplain at the Hay camp. Itseems that he was semi-official from theGovernment point of view as although hewas on the AMF records from 1923 asChaplain 4th class, he was transferred tothe Unattached List for the 2nd MilitaryDistrict on 27 October 1928, and thenplaced on the Retired List on 27 October1933, with permission to retain rank andwear uniform.

His records note that he was again tobe Chaplain 4th class with effect from 4thJanuary 1940, however it was not untilthe 24th of March 1942 that he completedand signed his Mobilization Attestationform.This was some time after his assoc-iation with the Hay camp had ended. Hepreached his last sermon there on 9thMay 1941 and many of his congregation ofinternees were transferred to the Taturainternment camp in September 1941.

His Record of Service notes that on26th March 1942 he was posted to the114 Australian General Hospital (AGH)at Goulburn. The Army established thisfacility when it requisitioned the Ken-more Mental Hospital near Goulburn.The 114 AGH specialised in treatingmembers of the AMF who had sufferedpsychological problems such as shell

shock. This order of events seem to con-firm Alcorn’s semi official position whileacting as chaplain at the Hay camp, andrecognises the skills of a man willing towork with those who had major problemsin their lives.

The sketches in the ephemera thatAlcorn retained illustrate his work withthe internees. Several scenes show him

Reverend Alcorn as sketched by P.Glass

Colour sketch by George A. Teltscher of Church of Christ with mention of Alcorn

Hay note 6d serial number C39696 given to Padre Alcorn

in conversation with groups of prisonersand one shows him conducting a churchservice in a hut. Others are wood cuts ofcamp views and sketches and paintings,one of which is particularly interesting.It was completed in April 1941 by aninternee George A.Teltscher and depicts,in an allegorical way, a building named“Church of Christ and outside the churchis a sign displaying service times and thename of Rev. F. E. Alcorn as minister.

I say allegorical as there are treesshown, as well as a male and femalefigure approaching the church, bothaspects of the environment that weredecidedly lacking at the time. Names inthe list of “Christian Internees belongingto denominations other than the Churchof England or Roman Catholic Church,”that are of interest to numismatists are:Hermann Robinow - Bank Clerk, a sig-natory on the notes issued 1st March1941 from Hut 32 and none other thanGeorge Teltscher - ‘Free Lance Artist’,from Hut 26.

Other items belonging to Alcorn in-clude two Player Navy Cut cigarette tins.The first is engraved with scenes of abible and a European city square, andthe second shows Australian flora andthe inscription ‘Sincere thanks Hay 1941All Good wishes’ engraved on the tin.The family records note that while hewas a ‘man of god,’ his humanity wasdisplayed by his only vice – tobacco. Hispastoral work before and after the waryears also show that he and his familylived frugally and more than once thepastor came home without his coat, hisreason being, that there were more deser-ving folk!

Fortunately the farewell gift to Alcornfrom his congregation when he left thecamp, a pair of carved wooden Biblecovers, has survived to this day. This ismentioned in a book plate expressing thesentiments shared by people of all faithsat the time. “As a humble expression of

our deep gratitude for his help at the time of our need in a world in distress, and withheartfelt wishes for his happiness in the future and true peace for the world, we offerthis pair of hand-carved book covers to ‘Padre F.E.Alcorn’ on the day of his departure.The Protestant Congregation - Internment Camp 7. Hay, NSW, the ninth of MayNineteen hundred ~ forty one.”

Teltscher note designerTeltscher, who has been credited with designing the Austrian schilling of 1934,

designed the Camp 7 notes dated 1st March 1941. The same design is used foreach of the three denominations. The text “THE CAMP SEVEN BANK, IN-TERNMENT CAMP, HAY, WILL UPON DEMAND PAY AGAINST THIS NOTE(SIXPENCE ONE OR TWO SHILLINGS) LEGAL TENDER AUSTRALIANCURRENCY”. The barbed wire border of the notes has the words “We are here be-cause we are here because we are here” interwoven in darker text. At the bottom ofthe wire fence in the body of the notes are the words H.M.T Dunera Liverpool to Hay.The sheep in the shield at lower centre has the name Eppenstein hidden in the fleece;this was the name of the camp leader. The notes have two signatures, one the campbank manager Richard Stahl signed on the right; the other is that of W. Epstein, E.Mendel or H. M. Robinow on the left.

The back of the notes features 25 sheep in five rows of five and the words “THISNOTE IS VALID ONLY WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF CAMP SEVEN INTERN-MENT CAMP HAY. / The Bank is under no obligation to honour this note if presentedby Holders outside this Camp.”

The name George A.Teltscher appears on the front of each note at the lower right.The sheep all have the number 7 on their fleece and hidden in the wool are names

that are still the subject of debate by researchers. Some say they are the hut leaders,others that they were prominent members of the camp.

Hay Camp note 1/- green

An internee’s pen and ink sketch illustrates stylistically his progress from persecution by theNazis in Europe to an uncertain future in an Australian internment camp.

Hay Internment Camp, 1940-41.Detail from a woodcut by Alfred Landauer,

Australian Defence Canteens couponsIn September 1941, the Australian Defence Canteens Servicetook over the operation of canteens in all camps. Couponswere issued in books with four denominations - 1d, 2d, 3d,and 4d. The booklets were perforated with the number of thecamp and to date only Camp 7-Hay has been recorded. Theprinter is A.H. Pettifer who was acting NSW GovernmentPrinter during 1942 and NSW Government Printer from1946 until 1958.

Campbell S&B SW-Feller1201 1d 572 9601202 2d 573 9611203 3d 574 9621204 4d 575 963

AA CChhaappllaaiinn’’ss wwoorrkk ccoonnttiinnuueessAn interesting comment appears on a postcard that Alcornreceived after he finished his work at Hay. Werner Baerwald,a musician, wrote from London in October 1941 that he “wasvery sorry that you could not be with us any longer. But Iwould like to assure you that your Divine services, your kindreadiness to help and your so sympathetic understanding ofall our troubles have won the hearts of many of us and madea deep impression on me.” Rabbi Falk wrote in his report, “Iwould personally vouch for these men who would be an ac-quisition to the progress and development of Australia.”Today, Australia’s multicultural population and diversity isa tribute partly to men like these who by their faith in actionpersuaded many internees to settle and become citizens.

ReferencesThe Dunera Scandal by Cyril Pearl, Angus & Robertson 1983Behind Barbed Wire, (Internment in Australia during WW2) by MargaretBevege UQP 1993Alien Justice (Wartime internment in Australia & N. America) by Saunders& Daniels UQP2000The Dunera Affair (A documentary Resource Book) Ed. Bartrop & Eisen JewishMuseum of Australia1990The Hay Internment Camp Notes a catalogue by M. H. R. Bullus MetropolitanCoin Club of Sydney 1994Hay POW and Internment Camp 1940-1947, by M.A. Beckworth Hay Histor-ical Society 1991Australian History 1901-2001 as seen through Banknotes by Dauer & Pettit,Dauer 2007 Notes behind the Wire (The story of the Hay Internment Camp notes) byM.P.Vort-Ronald, Bond & Banknote News Oct/Nov 1989.The Hay Australian Internment camp bank notes by Leigh Burford. Thereport of the Australian Numismatic Society 1974 Yearbook p34-38Prisoner of War and Concentration Camp Money of 20th Century by L.K.Campbell BNR Press 1993World War II Remembered by Schwan & Boling BNR Press 1995Silent Witnesses: Civilian Camp Money of WWII by R&S Feller BNR Press 2007Falk, Leib Aisack (1889-1957) Australian Dictionary of Biography on lineA Tribute to my Great Grandfather Rabbi Leib Aisack Falk by D.Gluck, HansKimmel 2004National Archives of Australia6200688 F.E.Alcorn3357035 Canteens POW and Internment camps http://revfealcorn.blogspot.com/2008/11/introduction.html. by Laurie Favelle

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A Selection of Type 1, 2 and 3early notes of Hay camp Wood cut printing blocks (?).

Set of 1d, 2d, 3d, 4d Canteen V coupons with camp 7 perforation

Internees at rest, Hay Camp, 1941.Detail from a watercolour by Theodor Engel