1928 New South Wales prohibition referendum
1928 New South Wales referendum | ||||
Prohibition with compensation | Vote | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Yes | 29% | |||
No | 71% |
A referendum concerning introducing prohibition in New South Wales was put to voters on 1 September 1928.
Background
Six o'clock closing was introduced during the First World War, partly as an attempt to improve public morality and partly as a war austerity measure. Before this reform, most hotels and public houses in Australia had closed at 11 or 11:30 pm.[1] Support for changing hotel closing times originally came from the temperance movement, which hoped that implementing restrictions on the sale of alcohol would lead eventually to its total prohibition. Although the movement had been active since the 1870s, it had been gaining ground since the 1900s following the introduction of 6 o'clock retail trade closing, first legislated in Western Australia in 1897. The argument made by the temperance movement challenged the grounds for public houses being "kept open while bakers' shops were shut".[1] Prominent groups in this movement were the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the Rechabites. Their agitation was augmented with the outbreak of war in 1914 where it was argued that a "well-ordered, self-disciplined and morally upright home front was a precondition for the successful prosecution of the war."[2]
The first state to introduce early closing was
Although 6 o'clock closing was introduced as a temporary measure, the government brought in extensions and discussed putting the matter to a referendum. In 1923, however, without testing the matter by a popular vote, the Fuller Nationalist government enacted 6 pm as the closing time.[5]
The question
The question to be voted on was whether "prohibition, with compensation, shall come into force throughout New South Wales".[6]
Results
The referendum overwhelmingly rejected the introduction of prohibition.
Question | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|
Are you in favour of Prohibition with Compensation? |
Yes | 357,684 | 28.74 |
No | 896,752 | 71.26 | |
Total formal votes | 1,254,436 | 98.92 | |
Informal votes | 13,683 | 1.08 | |
Turnout [8] | 1,268,119 | 89.97 |
Aftermath
This was the second of 5 referendums concerning the sale of alcohol in New South Wales, 3 of which dealt with the closing hour for licensed premises and clubs while the fifth concerned Sunday trading.[9]
Referendum | 6:00 pm | 7:00 pm | 8:00 pm | 9:00 pm | 10:00 pm | 11:00 pm |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
(2) 1916 Licensed premises closing hour | 62.18% | 0.97% | 3.84% | 32.16% | 0.29% | 0.56% |
(5) 1947 Licensed premises and clubs closing hour | 62.44% | 1.60% | 35.96% | |||
(6) 1954 Licensed premises and clubs closing hour | 49.73% | 50.27% |
See also
References
- ^ .
- ISBN 978-1-86373-461-5., page 81.
- ^ "'Six o'clock swill' begins". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2013.
- ISBN 978-0-333-11921-1., pages 12 and 63-65.
- ISBN 9780725102371.
- ^ "The referendum: instructions to voters". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 August 1928. p. 12. Retrieved 26 October 2021 – via Trove.
- ^ "Referendum 1 September 1928". NSW Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011.
- ^ Estimate based on a roll of 1,409,493 at the 1927 state election: Green, Antony. "1927 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
- ^ a b "Results of referendums in New South Wales". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 October 2021.