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Story: Large companies

More beer, fewer firms

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The brewing industry is an excellent example of what happened to many industries over the 20th century in New Zealand. As transport improved small firms and factories in small towns closed and larger firms and factories began to serve a national market. While beer production went up, fewer and fewer (but larger) firms were producing it. Note: a gallon equals around 4.55 litres.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: S. R. H. Jones and D. R. Paul, Concentration and regulation in the New Zealand brewing industry, 1870–1970. Auckland: University of Auckland, Dept. of Economics, 1987

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How to cite this page

Gary Hawke, Large companies – Finance, transport and ownership, 19th and 20th centuries, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/interactive/25954/more-beer-fewer-firms (accessed 11 June 2026).

Story by Gary Hawke, published 2 March 2010.