One of the earliest temperance groups established in Melbourne was the Total Abstinence Society, founded in 1842. Over a period of many years, temperance interests sought to influence Victorian liquor laws, with mixed success. By the turn of the century the temperance groups generally campaigned for total abstinence from all alcoholic beverages. Temperance organisations appeared in Australia in the 1830s, initially with the aim of moderating excessive alcohol consumption in society. The power to grant and transfer licences was then held by justices of the peace. Ten years later, the Wines, Beer and Spirits Sale Act 1864 introduced a wide range of licence types and allowed publicans to trade from 6am until midnight, effectively deregulating the licensing laws in Victoria.

Trading hours were an area of interest as early as 1854, when an Act was passed to impose licence fees of ВЈ100 and to end Sunday trading (with the exception of sales to hotel lodgers) in Victoria. Since separation from New South Wales in 1851, Victoria has amended, reviewed and rewritten its liquor laws many times. The control of liquor licences and trading hours in Victoria has been an issue of enduring concern to the Parliament. Early liquor legislation and temperance interests The six o'clock closing time was made permanent after the war in 1919 and it remained that way in Victoria for 50 years, until 1966. In 1915, the Parliament legislated to change the closing times of Victorian hotels from 11.30pm to 9.30pm, and then to the earlier closing time of 6pm in 1916. Over the years, a number of state parliamentarians were also prominent in the temperance debates. Numerous temperance organisations, churches and social reformers waged tireless campaigns against alcohol consumption, having some success but never achieving a total prohibition on alcohol at federal or state level in Australia.

Long before the start of the First World War, various groups promoting abstinence from alcohol had brought pressure to bear on the Victorian Parliament. Liquor legislation in Victoria has always been a lively area of the law and it was particularly the case during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

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