- £175.00
Australia. (Italian Prisoner of War in Tasmania). 1944. Australia Air Mail Fee 1/- Folded Prisoner of War postal stationery letter sheet headed 'Service of Prisoners of War' dated '27.1.44.' and cancelled by Ship Mail Room/ Melbourne dated '9th Feb 44' with 'Opened by Censor 6/1' red on white censor label tied by triangular '6/1 Passed By Censor/ 4' in violet on revere applied at Launceston and addressed to Bari, Italy, endorsed 'written in Italian'.
The Italian P.O.W.'s in Australia numbered 19,000 but only 900 were interned on Tasmania. There were seven P.O.W. centers in Tasmania the largest at Brighton Detention Camp housed 600. During 1944 additional camps were established. From the endorsement on the reverse 'T2' was the Prisoner of War Control center at either Launceston or Scottsdale. The Prisoners between 90 and 140 were placed on different farms such as Beaconsfield, Lilydale and Fingal for example.
