Hay Prisoner of War Camp 7

Camp name

Country

Australia

Short description

Camp 7 operated between November 1940 and May 1946. Built for 1000 men its first arrivals were Italians, Germans and Austrians from the HMT Dunera. Detainees organised art exhibitions, made furniture and musical instrument, established schools, produced a newspaper, built their own theatre and designed their own currency.

Extended description

Camp 7 was one of three camps built approximately 2.5 km outside the western New South Wales town of Hay chosen for its flat, dry landscape, making escape difficult. It was built for 1000 men in a hexagonal layout with rows of services down the centre and sleeping huts either side. It was supplied with water, sewerage and electric lights. Its first arrivals were Italians, Germans and Austrians from the HMT Dunera and later nicknamed the ‘Kosher’ camp. Concerts and theatre productions were a regular feature. Resident Italian Fascists made their own ID cards and two were tried for murder in July 1944. Like in the other two camps at Hay, the detainees organised exhibitions of their paintings and sketches and made wooden toys for local children. They established schools where they taught subjects as diverse as maths and philology to detainees aged between 17 and 20, held open lectures and debates. Other classes included wood-carving and other handiwork. They wrote and produced a newspaper, staged cabaret, concerts and plays on a purpose-built theatre stage, set up a handball field, built their own supplementary furniture and musical instruments and designed their own currency. The camp was dismantled in May 1946 materials and equipment sold at auction and the showground and racecourse area was restored and rebuilt.

Locality name

Hay

City, town or suburb

Hay, NSW

Operation start date

1940

Operation end date

1946

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