When New Zealand Took On Alcohol and Nearly Won
Thursday 18 June 2026
In 1875, a Hamilton man challenged local drinkers to a rifle match, convinced that non-drinkers would outshoot those who enjoyed whisky.
It might sound unusual, but it reflects how seriously temperance was taken in early Hamilton.
At the time, New Zealand was often described as the “Britain of the South,” with settlers bringing their culture, institutions, and social movements with them. Temperance was one of these imports. It encouraged people to reduce or completely give up alcohol, with many believing that drinking led to poverty, poor health, family neglect, and moral decline. Alcohol abuse was common in early Aotearoa, and temperance groups often formed through churches. Members would sign pledges promising not to drink, reinforcing both personal discipline and community expectations.
By the 1870s, the movement was already active in Hamilton. In 1875, a member of the Good Templars wrote to the Waikato Times defending his claim that non-drinkers made better marksmen than whisky drinkers. Confident in his theory, he even challenged a group of “moderates” to a friendly competition, offering a small but revealing glimpse into the strength of local feeling. Nationally, the movement continued to grow.
New Zealanders first voted on prohibition in 1911, although the required sixty percent threshold was not reached. During the First World War, pressure from temperance groups led to the introduction of six o’clock closing in 1917, giving rise to the term “six o’clock swill.” Intended as a temporary wartime measure, it remained in place until 1967. After the war, the government lowered the threshold for prohibition to a simple majority. A special referendum in 1919 came remarkably close to success, but when the ballots of forty thousand soldiers still overseas were counted, prohibition ultimately fell short.
In Hamilton, the movement remained strong. In 1927, the Women’s Christian Temperance Union held its district convention at St Paul’s College, bringing delegates from across the region. The mayor praised the group’s commitment to “God, home and humanity,” crediting its members with helping reshape attitudes toward alcohol and family life. Temperance was not only about restriction, it also created its own social world. Meetings were often held in local churches and could end with afternoon tea, music, and light-hearted competitions. Visiting speakers were a regular feature, sometimes delivering striking messages. One speaker in 1941 described alcohol as “a protoplasmic poison… destructive of all living tissue.”
Although temperance organisations still exist today, their influence declined after the 1967 Licensing Hours Referendum extended bar closing times to 10pm. This brought an end to the “six o’clock swill”, and with it, a distinctive chapter in New Zealand’s social history.
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