1919 Soldiers' votes derail prohibition campaign

A keenly contested national referendum on 10 April initially gave prohibition a majority of 13,000, apparently confirming the hopes of those who had for decades campaigned against the manufacture and sale of alcohol. But the votes of nearly 40,000 troops overseas, aboard ships or in New Zealand camps were still to be counted. Fighting for King and country was clearly thirsty work – more than 32,000 of these soldiers voted to retain the right to drink, overturning the interim result.

A second referendum, held alongside the December 1919 general election, delivered another agonisingly close result that again maintained the status quo. Although the prohibitionist cause remained strong until the mid 1930s, New Zealand would never again come as close to banning the bottle as it did in the twin referenda of 1919.

Image: Prohibition poster