Footage Of When Aussie Women Were First Allowed Into Pubs In The 1970s Is Outrageous

Archival footage has revealed what some men's attitudes were like when women were allowed to drink alongside them at pubs in Australia.

While most people might think this would have happened early into the 20th century, it wasn't permitted Down Under until the mid-1970s.

Until then, women were only allowed into the lounge or saloon area of the bar, which was filled with sofas to let women talk and catch up.

The public bar, which is where the word pub comes from, was strictly limited to men.

If a woman tried to enter a public bar, they would be advised that the lounge or saloon was available to them.

But all of that changed in the '70s and Aussie women were finally allowed to order a drink at the counter alongside a man.

The ABC sent a female reporter into a pub to see what everyone thought of the new equality measures and it seems like the blokes weren't too happy.

She stood alongside a row of men who were all clambering to get a beer and asked a man to her right what he thought of her presence.

He said he objected to the idea of women being in the public bar because he couldn't say what he wanted to say.

"I think, myself, that the place for women is the saloon or the lounge," he said. "If i want to talk or swear or something like that and a woman is standing behind me, you can't, can you?"

When he was asked why he wouldn't be able to say what he wanted, he replied: "You just don't, or you can't...put it that way."

That man said he would simply walk out of the pub if he saw a bunch of women fill the bar and find somewhere else to drink.

Another bloke was also seemingly annoyed he couldn't spout whatever he wanted now that he had to mix with women.

When the ABC reporter asked his views he said: "I can say F's and B's and C's in here, where there's only men. Let me put it this way, we put a restraint on ourselves."

There was one guy at the end of the clip who was seemingly all for gender diversity as long as they don't disturb him.

It's an incredible insight into people's attitudes at the time and how gender roles were so clearly split.

It wasn't until a decade later that the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 was passed that finally made it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the grounds of sex or marital status.

Featured Image Credit: ABC

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie