| Abstract: | At the end of the 1880s, eight in ten breweries in the colony of New South Wales were located in country (non-metropolitan) areas, and these accounted for about 25 per cent of total colonial beer production. The number of country breweries experienced a dramatic decline after the 1880s, reaching only two by 1932. This process occurred in three more-or-less discrete stages: until about 1900, when internal restructuring reduced the number from about 65 to about 40; a decade or two after 1900 when, facilitated by the Sydney-centred railway network, city competition further reduced the number; and a period, mainly in the 1920s, typified by takeovers of country by city breweries. Additionally, the elimination of border duties after Federation introduced Melbourne competition to brewers in the southern part of the state. |
