THE AUSTRALIAN ARK – Federation to the Modern Era | 1900–1982
pubs before the laws could be relaxed. To some extent, wine was not really seen as being a demon drink, but it was caught up in the social discourse at the time. It was not until the 1st of January 1955 that extended hours in New South Wales were permitted, again after a royal commission and 1954 referendum. It also marked a time when the temperance movement, now having a much lower membership, lost hold of the national debate about alcohol. But the six o’clock closing remained in place until 1966 in Victoria and 1967 in South Australia. Even today, the place of alcohol in society is a subject that rages within the Australian community, and the binge culture continues to blight the cause of wine and moderation. . . .
‘Wowser’ is a beautiful word. Expressive, not borrowed, typically Australian, it is a word that was coined to meet an undeniable need … Australia has a great number of wowsers, or perhaps it is that a greater proportion of Australians have a dash of wowserism than the people of other countries. – AJ Marshall, Australia Limited, ‘Think – Or Be Damned’, 1943
. . .
The standards and expectations of a modernising society, however, were changing, especially after the arrival of displaced Europeans and returning soldiers who had a taste for wine. The Italian population in northeast Victoria, for example, many of whom were growing hops and tobacco, became regular visitors to Brown Brothers at Milawa, where they purchased light, dry red wines. Some of them had been established or worked on farms before the beginning of the war’s hostilities, which saw German and Italian families in the area rounded up and interned as enemy aliens. Many of them had visited the local wineries in northeast Victoria since the 1930s. At Griffith, in New South Wales, a similar pattern of control also took place. About 60–70 Italian-born locals were interned during the war. Among those who managed to escape these draconian measures was Vittorio De Bortoli, whose wine business had thrived through the Great Depression and into the 1930s. By 1936, the winery had expanded significantly, employing over 25 men and crushing 14 times as much as in 1928. As a food producer, De Bortoli was allowed to keep working on his farm and at the winery, but it was required that he report to the police every week. In addition, some Italian farmers in the district were ordered to relinquish their buildings and equipment for the war effort. Australia’s 1939 National Security Act was introduced to protect the country from ‘enemy aliens’
256
Powered by FlippingBook