South Australian Alliance
The South Australian Alliance was a Protestant Christian temperance organisation that campaigned for restrictions on alcohol licensing and, ultimately, the abolition of the liquor trade in South Australia.
Last updated October 14, 2026
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Overview
The South Australian Alliance was a Protestant Christian temperance organisation active in the colony and later state of South Australia. Its institutional origins lay in the South Australian Total Abstinence Society, founded in 1840. In 1867 that body adopted the name South Australian Temperance Alliance, reflecting a broader temperance movement that sought to reduce or eliminate alcohol consumption through religious advocacy, public persuasion and political reform. The organisation became known as the South Australian Alliance in 1885. Although the shorter title was formally adopted, contemporary references continued to use South Australian Temperance Alliance and related variants for many years. In 1925 the members changed the name to the South Australian Prohibition League. The organisation held its 42nd annual general meeting in November 1926. In 1932 its title was expanded to The South Australian Alliance for the Abolition of the Liquor Traffic by the Will of the People, effectively restoring the South Australian Alliance name in abbreviated form. The Alliance's central objective was prohibition or substantial restriction of the liquor trade. It did not limit its work to moral exhortation. The organisation promoted legislative and electoral measures intended to reduce the availability of alcohol, including local-option voting, petitions concerning licensing hours and proposals for the cancellation of liquor licences. Its campaigns were closely connected with Protestant churches and the wider South Australian temperance movement. Notable associates included ministers and campaigners such as H. Estcourt Hughes, S. W. Jeffries and W. F. Finlayson, while V. E. Stanton served as secretary for nine years before being replaced by Albert Keeling in 1923. One of the Alliance's most consequential campaigns concerned hotel closing hours. At the beginning of the twentieth century, ordinary shops generally closed at 6 p.m., while hotel bars could remain open until 11 p.m. The Alliance argued that this differential treatment advantaged publicans and contributed to public drunkenness. In 1913 it circulated petitions seeking a 6 p.m. closing time for hotel bars and separately promoted a no-licence proposal that would have cancelled liquor licences. The political pressure contributed to a 1915 plebiscite offering voters a range of closing times from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. The 6 p.m. option prevailed. A corresponding amendment to South Australia's licensing law passed the House of Assembly in August 1915, was ratified by the Legislative Council in December and took effect when licences were renewed in March 1916. The early-closing measure produced an unintended social effect known as the six o'clock swill. Patrons often consumed alcohol rapidly before the closing deadline and sometimes purchased several drinks for later consumption. The episode illustrated the limits of regulating hours without eliminating demand and became a prominent feature of Australian drinking history. The Alliance also supported local option, a policy adopted around 1885 under which local ratepayers could vote on whether the number of licensed premises in their area should rise or fall. Various proposed systems required a supermajority for change and periodic votes, with the expectation that some districts would eventually become dry. In practice, local option did not stop the expansion or persistence of hotels across South Australia. The organisation maintained a public voice through The Patriot, its official publication. The periodical was established by 1907 or earlier, was revived as a weekly in 1920 and was edited at different times by Alliance figures including Frank Lade, R. Ambrose Roberts, Estcourt Hughes and William George Clarke. The available record documents the organisation's leadership and campaigning activity into the early 1940s, but does not establish its later institutional status. It is therefore best understood as a historical advocacy organisation rather than a contemporary commercial brand.
History
The organisation began as the South Australian Total Abstinence Society in 1840, during the formative period of European settlement in South Australia. Its founding purpose was associated with the Protestant Christian temperance movement, which treated abstinence from alcohol as a religious and social reform obligation. Over time, the organisation moved beyond individual pledges and moral instruction to campaign for controls on the production, sale and availability of liquor. In 1867 the society became the South Australian Temperance Alliance. This name connected it more explicitly with organised temperance advocacy and remained in use in many later references. In 1885 it adopted the shorter name South Australian Alliance. The change was not consistently reflected in public usage, and newspapers and other records continued frequently to call it the South Australian Temperance Alliance or the S.A. Temperance Alliance. Around the same time, the Alliance adopted local option as a policy. Under local-option schemes, ratepayers would vote on whether the number of licensed premises in a district should be increased or reduced. Proponents expected the system eventually to produce dry districts, while critics described it as an oppressive form of majority rule. Different versions of the proposal contemplated periodic voting and, in some cases, a two-thirds majority before the number of licences could change. The policy did not prevent hotels from continuing to operate or halt their broader expansion. The Alliance's most visible legislative campaign in the early twentieth century concerned closing hours. Shops generally closed at 6 p.m., but hotel bars could remain open until 11 p.m. The Alliance argued that this discrepancy gave publicans an unjustified advantage and that late trading encouraged drunkenness. In 1913 it circulated one petition calling for hotel bars to close at 6 p.m. and another seeking the cancellation of all liquor licences under a no-licence policy. The issue became sufficiently important for the government to promise a plebiscite in conjunction with the 1915 general election. The Alliance and the Council of Churches jointly sought immediate early closing from Premier Peake, a Presbyterian and teetotaller. Their request was not accepted as an emergency measure in response to the First World War and drought. Instead, voters were presented with six closing-time choices, ranging from 6 p.m. through 11 p.m. The earliest option won. The resulting Licensing Act Amendment Bill passed the House of Assembly in August 1915 and the Legislative Council in December. The new rule took effect in March 1916 when licences were renewed. The reform generated an unintended behavioural response. Customers rushed to drink before the deadline, often consuming heavily and buying multiple drinks for later use. This practice became known as the six o'clock swill. It demonstrated that an hours restriction could change the timing and intensity of drinking without necessarily achieving the Alliance's wider abstinence objectives. The organisation also used print advocacy. The Patriot, its official publication, was established by 1907 or earlier. Rev. Delehanty edited it for approximately six years. After an apparent gap in publication, it was revived as a weekly in 1920 under Rev. Frank Lade. Later editors included Rev. R. Ambrose Roberts, H. Estcourt Hughes and W. G. Clarke, with Lade subsequently returning to the role. The magazine provided a platform for temperance arguments and supported the Alliance's public campaigning. In 1925 the organisation changed its name to the South Australian Prohibition League and held its 42nd annual general meeting in November 1926. In 1932 its formal title was amended to The South Australian Alliance for the Abolition of the Liquor Traffic by the Will of the People. This wording expressed the continuing goal of ending the liquor trade through popular political decision-making and effectively restored the South Australian Alliance identity. Leadership during the documented interwar and wartime period included Rev. T. H. Smeaton, Rev. W. G. Clarke, Rev. Fred W. Dinnis and Rev. Frank Lade as presidents. Other notable participants included Rev. H. Estcourt Hughes, S. W. Jeffries and W. F. Finlayson. V. E. Stanton served as secretary for nine years and was replaced by Albert Keeling in 1923. The source record documents presidents through 1945 but does not establish when the organisation ceased operating or whether a successor body continued its work. Its current status is therefore unknown.
- 1932
Formal title restored to South Australian Alliance
[1]The title was amended to South Australian Alliance for the Abolition of the Liquor Traffic by the Will of the People, commonly shortened again to South Australian Alliance.
- 1926
42nd annual general meeting
[1]The organisation held its 42nd annual general meeting in November.
- 1925
Renamed South Australian Prohibition League
[1]Members changed the organisation's name as its prohibition objective became more explicit.
- 1916
Early-closing law comes into force
[1]The licensing amendment implementing the six o'clock closing policy took effect with licence renewals in March.
- 1915
Six o'clock closing wins the plebiscite
[1]Voters selected 6 p.m. as the preferred hotel closing time from six alternatives.
- 1913
Petitions for early closing and no-licence reform
[1]The Alliance circulated petitions seeking 6 p.m. hotel closing and, separately, the cancellation of liquor licences.
- 1907
The Patriot established by or before this year
[1]The Patriot became the organisation's official publication; the available record places its founding in 1907 or earlier.
- 1885
Adopted the South Australian Alliance name
[1]The organisation changed its title to South Australian Alliance, although the former temperance name remained common in later references.
- 1867
Renamed South Australian Temperance Alliance
[1]The Total Abstinence Society adopted a name that more directly identified it with the organised temperance movement.
- 1840
South Australian Total Abstinence Society founded
[1]The organisation's institutional predecessor was established as a Protestant Christian total-abstinence society in South Australia.
Products and positioning
A Protestant Christian reform organisation positioned alcohol abstinence and liquor-market restriction as matters of public morality, social welfare and democratic community control.
Temperance publication · 1907
The Patriot
The Patriot was the official organ of the South Australian Alliance and its predecessor temperance bodies. Established by 1907 or earlier, it was later revived as a weekly in 1920. Its editors included Alliance leaders and ministers such as Frank Lade, R. Ambrose Roberts, Estcourt Hughes and W. G. Clarke. The publication served as an advocacy channel for abstinence, prohibition, licensing reform and related Protestant social-reform causes.
Political reform campaign · 1885
Local-option advocacy
Local option was a policy under which ratepayers in a district could vote on the number of licensed liquor premises. The Alliance promoted variations involving periodic votes and, in some proposals, a supermajority requirement. The intended outcome was the creation of dry districts or a reduction in licensed venues, although the policy did not stop the continued presence of hotels.
Marketing campaigns
- 1913Early-closing campaign
South Australia
The Alliance petitioned for hotel bars to close at 6 p.m., arguing that late trading encouraged public drunkenness and unfairly advantaged hotels over ordinary shops.
Outcome. The campaign helped place closing hours before voters in a 1915 plebiscite, in which the 6 p.m. option won.
- 1913No-licence campaign
South Australia
A separate petition sought the cancellation of all liquor licences, reflecting the Alliance's broader prohibitionist objective.
Outcome. The available source does not document the final result of this specific petition.
- 1885Local-option campaign
South Australia
The Alliance promoted voting rights for local ratepayers on whether licensed premises should be added or removed from their districts.
Outcome. The policy did not prevent the continued spread and operation of hotels.
Brand decisions
1925
Changed name to South Australian Prohibition LeagueStrategyBackground
The organisation continued to pursue a programme directed toward ending the liquor trade.
Action taken
Members adopted the South Australian Prohibition League title.
Aftermath
In 1932 the organisation adopted a longer title referring to abolition of the liquor traffic and returned in abbreviated usage to South Australian Alliance.
1915
Supported the six o'clock closing optionStrategyBackground
The Alliance argued that hotel bars should not remain open five hours later than ordinary shops and linked late closing with public drunkenness.
Action taken
It campaigned through petitions and public advocacy for a 6 p.m. hotel closing time, which was included as one of six plebiscite choices.
Aftermath
The 6 p.m. option won and was enacted in 1916. The restriction contributed to the rapid pre-closing drinking associated with the six o'clock swill.
1885
Adopted local option as organisational policyStrategyBackground
The Alliance sought a political mechanism for reducing liquor availability at the district level without relying only on individual abstinence.
Action taken
It backed schemes allowing local ratepayers to vote on increases or reductions in licensed premises.
Aftermath
The approach was expected to create dry districts but did not halt the continued operation and expansion of hotels.
Recent events
- 1940
William George Clarke faces a slander action[1]
Lawsuit
William George Clarke, who edited The Patriot during parts of the period, was sued for slander by Stanley Whitford.
- 1920
The Patriot is revived as a weekly publication[1]
Other
The Alliance's official periodical, The Patriot, was revived as a weekly and edited by Rev. Frank Lade.
- 1916
South Australian licensing amendment takes effect[1]
Regulation
Following parliamentary approval in 1915, the new early-closing rule for hotel bars came into operation when liquor licences were renewed in March 1916.
- 1915
South Australian voters choose six o'clock hotel closing[1]
Regulation · Campaign
A plebiscite on hotel closing times offered six alternatives from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. The six o'clock option, supported by the Alliance's early-closing campaign, won the vote.
Sources1 sources
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