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Story: Southland region

‘No I won’t, I’ll have a glass of beer’

Video file

The Invercargill Licensing Trust was set up to control the sale of liquor in the city after it was legalised in 1943. Invercargill residents became the first New Zealanders able to drink alcohol in a restaurant that was not attached to a hotel.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Weekly Review 163. National Film Unit, 1944

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

David Grant, Southland region – Society and culture, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/20136/no-i-wont-ill-have-a-glass-of-beer (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by David Grant, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.