From the late 19th century liquor laws increasingly restricted women's ability to participate in the liquor trade. In 1893 women were barred from holding liquor licences, unless they held one prior to the law change, and in 1910 new barmaids were banned (licence holders, existing barmaids and barmaids closely related to licence holders were exempt). Barmaids were simultaneously cast as tempting men to enter bars and drink, or as innocents who had to be protected from the evils of the liquor trade. This 1906 cartoon takes a more light-hearted approach to the issue.
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National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past
Reference: Observer, 30 June 1906, p. 12
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