Sarawak Banknotes 1945 Proof

  
The Brookes had ruled Sarawak for 100 years prior to its falling to the Japanese in 1942. The last of White Rajahs, Charles Vyner Brooke, recognized he lacked the resources to rebuild his shattered country. He opted to cede Sarawak to Britain as a Crown Colony.
 
Brooke had minted no coins nor had he any notes printed that might be circulated once the Japanese had been expelled. When Britain became aware of Brooke’s intent to cede, they ensured a supply of emergency currency would be available for their new colony in the same manner they were doing for Malaya.
 
Accordingly, a series of 1 Cent, 5 Cent, and 10 Cents notes where being prepared for Sarawak during the final days of the Pacific war. These could be quickly and inexpensively printed and shipped to Sarawak after approval. However, it is likely that they were never printed in quantity for circulation, and it is clear that none of these could have been issued
 
Essentially, these are specimen proofs if not trials.   None were ever issued.

 
The design of each of the 1945 notes is similar in some respects to Sarawak’s pre-1942 issues. Each names the issuer as THE GOVERNMENT OF SARAWAK as do those pre-1942 issues but the 1945 notes lack any provision to be signed by TREASURER OF SARAWAK. Rather.