Australia has a drinking problem, but is tea the answer? Here I examine the role of ‘dry’ months like febfast, Dry July and Ocsober in a boozy culture and whether tea can fill the gaps.
There’s a small bar in my neighbourhood called The Temperance Society, which I’ve always taken as a joke name, like a politician’s meeting venue called The Party Room. The truth is, while the temperance movement was about abstinence from alcohol, the roots of the Latin word ‘temperantia’ actually refers to restraint or moderation.
This is important because it tells us that it’s okay to enjoy a drink or two, but nights turbocharged with alcohol tend to end badly. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 22% of Australians aged 14+ reported being a victim of an alcohol-related incident in 2016 and one in six Australians consume alcohol at levels that place them at a lifetime risk of an alcohol-related disease or injury. Not to mention how the entire City of Sydney’s night-time economy has been shackled by lockout laws because of a violent alcohol-fuelled incident.
The quest to wean Australia off the booze has not gone unsupported. Movements such as Hello Sunday Morning and Jill Stark’s investigative memoir High Sobriety are just two artefacts of a push towards a healthier relationship with alcohol in a calendar now framed by febfast, Dry July and Ocsober. The latter is aimed at preventing youth from abusing alcohol as well as supporting Life Education. (Australians under a certain age may recall its mascot Healthy Harold the giraffe visiting your school every year.)
The issue is not just about access to alcohol, though, but the lack of an alternative kind of nightlife. The last time temperance was big, it was the 1830s and the next 50 years saw ‘coffee palaces’ spring up in response. One famous coffee palace later became The Hotel Windsor in Melbourne. Elsewhere in the world, the movements gave birth to tea parties for hundreds of townsfolk in temperance halls, with programs that included talks, food, games and music.
“Temperance advocates realised that the public house performed a crucial service in providing food, accommodation and recreation as well as alcohol, and if they were to attract clients away from the pub they had to provide alternative venues for such needs.” – Under the Influence by Ross Fitzgerald et al (ABC Books, 2009)
Could a teahouse that opens late perform this function in modern Australia? It would take a long time to transform an idea of a ‘night out’ from one of booze, pills and club beats to social connection through a cuppa and, so far, few venue owners have pockets deep enough for such a long-term punt. In the meantime, those who don’t care for alcohol or noisy bars are developing their own tea community behind closed doors.
If you would like to learn more about temperance in Australia, I recommend The History of Temperance in Australia on ABC Radio.
*Me? I’m a social drinker who would take a late-night session at a teahouse over a pub any day.
This article originally appeared in AUSTCS enews 27 September 2018.