Sevenpenny Greymouth

Description

Our Story : Beer was the staple drink of working men, and the price of beer and cigarettes was always a matter of local debate. An organised move by Greymouth hotels to raise the price of beer in 1947. Price rised from six penny to seven penny. It led to one of the most effective consumer boycotts ever seen in New Zealand. After a four-and-a-half-month boycott of pubs, the hotel keepers caved in. Hence the price was restored to its old level. It was a sign of the power that determined consumers and organised labour could wield. Miners, forestry workers and the like boycotted drinking at any hotels. Anyone that was caught in any establishments or intoxicated were shunned by everyone in the industry. They then resorted to striking from working in the mines and the nation reached crisis point with a shortage of coal nationwide which forced the government to intervene.