Over the past long weekend I came across this interesting ballot box.

Straight away my eye was drawn to the ‘broad arrow’ symbol, which was used to mark and identify  items that belonged to the government/military. Add that symbol to the other writing that is on the front of the box along with the purpose made slot and lockable lid and it looks like this is an original NSW State Ballot Box.

Manufactured from a heavy gauge galvanised steel the box is very sturdy, however I do wonder about it’s size. I’d imagine in a city/town with a large population it would have to be emptied reasonably often.

When questioning the seller about its origins, he was told it was from the Wollongong region (approx 1 of 20 that was used in the area) and dates from the 1950’s/60’s.

A quick search online turns up one other from the Central Coast region which appears to be almost identical.

Definitely a great piece of NSW government history, hoping to have it in the online store next weekend!