1954 New South Wales closing hour referendum

A referendum concerning the closing hour for licensed premises and registered clubs was put to voters in New South Wales on 13 November 1954.[1]

1954 New South Wales closing hour referendum
13 November 1954 (1954-11-13)
The question is the closing hour for premises and clubs licensed under the Liquor Act, 1912:

6 pm or 10 pm ?
Results
Choice
 Votes  %
Six o'clock p.m. 892,740 49.73%
Ten o'clock p.m. 902,532 50.27%
Valid votes 1,795,272 97.72%
Invalid or blank votes 41,794 2.28%
Total votes 1,837,066 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 1,852,787 99.15%

Background

Six o'clock closing was introduced in New South Wales during the First World War following the 1916 referendum. The 1916 vote was influenced by a recent riot involving drunken soldiers. In February 1916, troops mutinied against conditions at the Casula Camp. They raided hotels in Liverpool before travelling by train to Sydney, where one soldier was shot dead in a riot at Central Railway station.[2] Although it 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.[3]

The question

The voting paper was:[4]

The elector shall indicate his vote by placing the number "1" in the square opposite the closing hour for which he desires to give his first preference vote, and the number "2" in the remaining square.

Order of Preference          Closing hour          
 Six o'clock
Ten o'clock

Results

The referendum was narrowly in favour of 10:00 pm closing time.

Result [5][6]
Question     Votes           %      
What should be the closing
hour of licensed premises		 6:00 pm 892,740 49.73
10:00 pm 902,532 50.27
Total formal votes 1,795,272 97.72
Informal votes 41,794 2.28
Turnout [7] 1,837,066 94.02

Aftermath

This was the second of three referendums concerning the closing hour for licensed premises and clubs.[8]

These tables are an excerpt from 1916 New South Wales closing hour referendum § Aftermath.[edit]
Closing hour referendum results [8]
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
  1. "NSW vote on liquor". Courier-Mail. 7 September 1954. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
  2. Robson, LL (1969). Australia & the Great War: 1914-1918. Australia: Macmillan. pp. 12 and 63-65. ISBN 978-0-333-11921-1.
  3. Freeland, JM (1966). The Australian Pub. Australia: Melbourne University Press. p. 175. ISBN 9780725102371.
  4. Liquor Referendum Act 1954 No 28 (NSW).
  5. "Liquor (Amendment) Act, 1954". No. 201. 10 December 1954. p. 3763. Retrieved 25 October 2021 – via Trove.
  6. "Referendum 13 November 1954". NSW Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 18 February 2011.
  7. Estimate based on a roll of 1,953,953 at the 1953 state election: Green, Antony. "1953 election totals". New South Wales Election Results 1856-2007. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  8. "Results of referendums in New South Wales". Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
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