Bottle of German POW distilled spirits, HMNZT Willochra : Major I Isaacson, Special Service, AIF

Metal container made of tin containing spirits. The body is a piece of long rectangular tin shaped into an oval and soldered along the long edge in the middle back of the container. Soldered to each end are roughly cut pieces of tin. The container has an overall silver wash finish but there are some spots of corrosion around the perimeter of each endcap.

This sealed tin contains spirits confiscated from a private whisky still found aboard the New Zealand troop transport 'Willochra' after the ship left New Zealand on 10 May 1919 carrying repatriated German prisoners of war and civilian internees from New Zealand and Australia to Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The still was made from an old oil drum and the whisky manufactured from potato peelings. Over 900 Germans were served from the still before the AIF officer in charge, Major Isidor Isaacson, discovered and confiscated it and its product on the journey between Albany, Western Australia and Durban, South Africa.

The ship arrived at Rotterdam on 18 July and the former internees and prisoners disembarked into the custody of the Dutch Army. They later boarded trains for Germany.