Drinking culture in Australia

Alcohol is commonly consumed and available at pubs and liquor stores in Australia – all of which are private enterprises. Spirits can be purchased at liquor stores and pubs, whereas grocery stores do not sell them, although they may have separate liquor stores on their premises. Alcohol consumption is higher, according to WHO studies, than in most European countries and several Central Asian and African countries, although consumption is just as high in Australia as in North America. After tobacco, alcohol is the second leading preventable cause of death and hospitalisation in Australia.

Alcohol is served in many social and recreational situations, and its use is often encouraged. While drinking alcohol is often seen as intrinsic to Australian culture, the effects associated with over-consumption don't just affect the individual, but also the wider national community. In 2012, it was estimated that Australians spent $14.1 billion each year on alcohol.

Heavy drinking in Australia was a cultural norm since colonisation. For a period, convicts in Australia were partially paid with rum. The distribution of rum amongst the New South Wales Corps led to the only successful armed takeover of an Australian government, which later became known as the Rum Rebellion of 1808.

Spirits were the most widely consumed alcoholic beverages in Australia in the 1830s, with early conservative estimates showing that 3.6 litres of pure alcohol were consumed by each person in NSW annually. In the 1830s, the Temperance Movement gained a following in the colony. Its influence peaked during World War I and the Great Depression. Alcohol sales were prohibited in the Australian Capital Territory between 1910 and 1928. Four referendums regarding the prohibition of alcohol were conducted in Western Australia, including one in each of the years 1911, 1921, 1925 and 1950. In 1837, laws were passed to prevent Aboriginal access to alcohol as binge drinking became problematic.

An attempt to prohibit alcohol on the Victorian Goldfields was made in 1852. This was the main factor leading to the growth in sly-grog shops.

In a failed attempt to reduce the effects of alcohol on society, all liquor establishments were forced to close by 6 pm from the 1910s to the 1960s. Prohibition was adopted in the Australian Capital Territory between 1910 and 1928, and four referendums regarding the prohibition of alcohol were conducted in Western Australia between 1911 and 1950. Rather than reduce alcohol consumption, the measures led to excessive drinking in the hour before closing time which became known as the six o'clock swill. In the decade after World War II there was a steep rise in the consumption of beer in Australia. Since the 1960s the popularity of beer has declined while wine consumption increased.

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