Hi Andrez,
Another bit of social history. The poem by Sheahan was based on a real event. In the Summer of 1943, he rode on his horse from his farm in Ingham to his local, the Day Dawn Hotel in Lannercost Street for a couple of pints, only to find that the beer(Cairns Draft Beer) had been sold out.Later he discovered a few thousand American servicemen had been billeted in the area,following some Pacific Ocean engagements, and soon drank the pub dry.
The real Australian heroes in those days would be the men who delivered beer to pubs in remote areas, come hail, rain or snow. Slim Dusty has another song about their dedication. It's about two guys whose truck got stuck in the mud after a downpour. They decide they only way to free the truck is to lighten the load, so they tear into the drink! I think the song is called "To Lighten the Load",