This 1997 book is a mixture of cultural and labour history which traces the role of barmaids and Australian drinking culture.

Introduction; 1. 'No place for a woman?': pub-keeping in colonial times; 2. 'The photographer and the barmaid': narrating women's work 1850s¿1910s; 3. 'The problem of the barmaids': urbanisation and legislative reform 1870s¿80s; 4. 'Wanted, a beautiful barmaid...': temperance and the language of desire; 5. 'White slaves behind the bar': the WCTU, the nation, and 'the barmaid'; 6. 'When men wore hats': gender, unions, and equal pay 1908¿49; 7. 'Beer, glorious beer': pub culture and the six o'clock swill 1920¿50s; 8. 'In praise of splendid gels': sex, work and drinking culture 1960s¿90s; Epilogue.