Rounds of spirited - and at times chaotic -- celebrations throughout Victoria this week in 1970 marked the lowering of the age of majority from 21 to 19.
In March 1970, the Age of Majority Act was passed in the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ legislature. As of April 15, people 19 years old and over would be able to marry without parental consent, vote in provincial elections and drink alcohol.
The motivation to change the law came as a result of the recommendation of the Morrow Liquor Commission that had found the law restricting the purchase of alcohol to people 21 and older one of many provincial liquor laws out of touch with societal attitudes.
Attorney General Leslie Peterson called the new law an attempt to "bring the governing of our young people out of the Middle Ages."
Prior to the law taking effect, no one was sure how the 5,000 19- and 20-year-olds living in Greater Victoria would react to their new adult status.
Victoria Police Chief J.F. Gregory said he didn't anticipate a rush on drinking establishments in the city and declared that police would be taking no extra precautions.
"For many people in that age group, it won't be anything new because they have been drinking ... The only difference is that they will be able to drink with a free conscience," he said.
Hotel and bar owners interviewed by Victoria's two daily newspapers, the Daily Times and Daily Colonist, also did not anticipate a sudden increase in business.
When April 15 arrived, it turned out both the police and bar owners had seriously underestimated the yearning to drink among the new adults in the city.
"Teen-Agers Flood Pubs" and "Youth Comes out of its Cocoon," were two headlines describing the day.
Fun and froth flowed as hundreds of young people "poured in and out of beer parlours through afternoon and night."
Cash registers bulged as city drinking establishments reported record sales of alcohol. Bar owners struggled to cope with long lineups and huge crowds as people drank "as fast as waiters could serve."
A clerk working at a liquor store on Foul Bay road was so busy he thought his store "had all the 20-year-olds from the university in here today."
Many 19-year-old high school students were so excited about their new freedom that they crowded bars during their lunch hours to down a few pints before going back to class.
In some bars, it was clear young men had made it their mission to ingest as much grog as physically possible. At one bar, the crowd celebrated this coming-of-age inebriation: Every time a team of young men carried one of their legless, incoherent friends outside everyone would give a great cheer.
At another bar, it seemed "love flow[ed] easily from a bottle of beer as some girls sat on the laps of their boyfriends until cautioned by waiters."
The following day the Daily Times wrote, "It was almost like a fiesta in Victoria Wednesday night and, judging by the scene in the beer parlours, there must be a lot of young, sore heads this morning."
Police reported few arrests and described most patrons as well behaved. However, when the weekend came the mood of the city changed: Both Friday and Saturday evenings became fight nights in Victoria.
"Victoria area hotels continued to have difficulties on Saturday night as young people tested their capacity for alcohol under new legislation which lowered the age of majority to 19 last week," reported the Daily Colonist.
Police had their hands full dealing with near "riots" across the city as fighting broke out everywhere. At one point a melee at a popular hotel became so dangerous that a police officer was injured when a mob of angry youth began throwing beer bottles and glasses at him.
Three hotels were forced to close at 10 p.m. on Saturday because of excessive brawling. This caused even more problems for police because angry and drunk youths began roaming the city and fighting in the streets.
One witness told the Daily Colonist, "I've never seen anything like this before and I've lived in Victoria all my life ... There are fights breaking out everywhere."
While the new law resulted in numerous problems in Victoria, it helped fill government coffers. A new cohort of drinkers along with an increase in liquor prices sent provincial liquor sale revenues shooting up by more than 30 per cent between 1970 and 1971.
