Historical information

Victoria held historical state-wide prohibition polls (referendums on the abolition of liquor licenses) in 1930 and 1938, both of which soundly rejected making the state "dry".
This is an anti-prohibition "How to Vote" slip distributed to businesses tied to the hospitality sector leading up to the poll on 8 October 1938. It is designed to look like a standard receipt or invoice docket (with fields for "No.", "Name", "Tax", and "Cash"), serving as a stark reminder to employees, suppliers, and patrons that their livelihood depended directly on keeping the state "wet." '
The anti-prohibition lobby targeted manufacturing, agriculture, trades, and retail suppliers to argue that voting "Yes" to abolition would cause widespread job loss and financial ruin during the recovery years of the Great Depression.

Physical description

Brown envelope printed in black ink on the front and with handwritten note in blue on the reverse side.

Inscriptions & markings

On the front:
No...
Name...
Tax...
Cash...
This establishment provides goods used in the Liquor Industry. Protect your own interests, by voting NO at the Prohibition Poll.

On the back:
Given to Historical Society of St Kilda by Cr C. Bell, Mayor St Kilda 14/3/82