Applications to be registered as a barmaid under sections 149 and 150 of the "Licensing Act 1908" (GRG67/50)

This series contains applications to be registered as a barmaid under "The Licensing Act 1908", issued by the Adelaide Licensing Bench.

Section 149 of the Act stated that no woman, other than the wife or daughter of a licensee, was permitted to sell, supply or serve liquor in licenced premises unless they were registered as a barmaid. Premises included hotels (pubs), railway station refreshment rooms, and restaurants.

Women who were the daughter or stepdaughter of a licence holder did not need to be registered as barmaids, nor did women who held a publican or wine license in their own right. Sisters or other female relatives of licence holders did need to be registered.

Each Licensing District maintained a register of barmaids and provided certificates to the registered barmaids, who could apply to have their registration transferred to a different district if required.

The applications generally include a letter requesting registration from the prospective barmaid, a brief police report confirming the applicant's employment, and occasionally include character references. The Adelaide police reports are quite brief, but the ones from country police stations tend to be more detailed. Port Adelaide police reports are generally written on the docket cover, not a separate document. Details such as residential addresses and dates of birth are generally not included.

The first applicants were those already employed as barmaids for at least three months before the passing of the Act (section 150 (2)). All barmaids had to be registered before 31 March 1909 (section 149 (1)), although there are many applications from later in 1909.

The applications include both successful and unsuccessful applications but generally do not include any documentation from the Licensing Bench as to their decision.

The consignment list includes the applicant's name, the application number, and the hotel or licensed premises they worked at (some worked at multiple venues).

The applications have been arranged alphabetically by surname for archiving, but they were originally numbered. There are at least two numerical sequences, both running numbers but one sequence has an 'A' suffix.