1916 New South Wales closing hour referendum explained

1916 New South Wales referendum
Closing hour	Vote %
	%
Later times	37.8%

A referendum concerning the closing hour for licensed premises and registered clubs was put to voters on 10 June 1916. The referendum was conducted on the basis of optional preferential voting. Preferences were not counted as a majority voted for 6:00 pm closing time.

The question

The voting paper was:^[1]

Order of Preference	Closing hour
	Six o'clock
	Seven o'clock
	Eight o'clock
	Nine o'clock
	Ten o'clock
	Eleven o'clock

Indicate your vote by placing the figure 1 in the square opposite the closing hour for which you vote in the first instance, and as your first preference.

You may, in addition, indicate in the order of your preference which of the other closing hours you prefer (in the event of the hour for which you first vote not getting a majority) by placing the figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or any of such figures, in the squares opposite the other closing hours, thereby indicating the order of your preference.

It is not necessary to vote for more than one closing hour, but the hour for which you first vote must have against it the figure 1.

The vote for any preference after the first will only be counted in the event of there not being a majority of votes in favour of any of your prior preferences.

Results

The referendum was overwhelmingly in favour of 6:00 pm closing time.

Result^[2]

Question		Votes	%
What should be the closing hour of licensed premises	6:00 pm	325,121
	7:00 pm	5,068	0.97
	8:00 pm	20,103	3.84
	9:00 pm	168,162	32.16
	10:00 pm	1,494	0.29
	11:00 pm	2,933	0.56
Total formal votes		522,881	95.93
Informal votes		22,208	4.07
Turnout^[3]		545,089	52.51

Aftermath

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.^[4]

This was the first of three referendums concerning the closing hour for licensed premises and clubs.

Closing hour referendum results

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	%	0.97%	3.84%	32.16%	0.29%	0.56%
(5) 1947 Licensed premises and clubs closing hour	%			1.60%	35.96%
(6) 1954 Licensed premises and clubs closing hour	49.73%

See also

• Referendums in New South Wales

Notes and References

1. (NSW).
2. Web site: Referendum 10 June 1916 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110218192415/http://www.elections.nsw.gov.au/results/referendums_and_polls/state/10_june_1916 . 2011-02-18 . NSW Electoral Commission.
3. Estimate based on a roll of 1,037,999 at the 1913 state election: 1913 election totals . 1913 . Totals . 2021-10-25.
4. Book: Freeland, JM . 1966 . The Australian Pub . Australia . Melbourne University Press . 175 . 9780725102371.