Reinforcements. Our scrap of paper, honor it. Vote Yes. Referendum (Australia, 1917)
A torn strip of paper carries a quotation signed by former Prime Minister Andrew Fisher, 'We will fight to the last man and the last shilling', framed as 'our scrap of paper' to 'honor'. The named ex-Labor leader vouches for a Yes vote (testimonial), and 'scrap of paper', the phrase then associated with the German dismissal of the Belgian neutrality treaty in 1914, is turned into a pledge whose breach a No vote would repeat (transfer).
- Date
- 1917
- Period
- First World War
- Made by
- Reinforcements Referendum Council, Melbourne (pro-conscription 'Yes' campaign), printed by Sands & McDougall
- Region
- Oceania
- Country
- Australia
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Movement
- Regime
- Hughes Government
- Leader
- William Morris Hughes
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Elections and party politics
- Event
- Australian Conscription Referendums
- Techniques
- TestimonialTransfer
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- Australian War Memorial, retrieved September 29, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (published 1917; AWM: copyright expired; PD-Australia)
Reinforcements Referendum Council; printed by Sands & McDougall Pty Ltd, Melbourne. 1917. Australian War Memorial, AWM2017.1202.1.
Text on the object
REINFORCEMENTS OUR SCRAP OF PAPER "We will fight to the last man and the last shilling" Andrew Fisher [signature] HONOR IT VOTE YES REFERENDUM Authorised by the Reinforcements Referendum Council, Claude McKay, Publicity Secretary, 366 Collins St., Melbourne. Printed by Sands & McDougall Pty. Ltd. [imprint line, very small; read at low confidence]
The image as supplied by the holding institution carries a white caption strip below the sheet reading 'AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL AWM2017.1202.1', added by the museum and not part of the poster.
