The history of one of Brisbane's lesser-known beer riots, along with other stories of unruly mobs, has been shared by the State Library of Queensland.

The Brisbane beer riots took over the streets of the state capital on October 26, 1940 and sparked fighting on Queen Street.

The six-hour incident — not to be mistaken for the Battle of Brisbane which happened in 1942 — shut down the CBD.

State Library of Queensland (SLQ) project coordinator Myles Sinnamon said the riot occurred while the closing times for bars were being reviewed, which ironically is still being debated in Queensland today.

"The state government, after pressure from some quarters, such as the Baptist Church and temperance organisations, decided they would strictly enforced liquor laws for hotels, restricting trading hours," Mr Sinnamon told 612 ABC Brisbane's David Curnow.

The headline on The Sunday Mail the morning after the beer riots in 1940. ( Supplied: State Library of Queensland )

"This meant closing at 8:00pm and no Sunday trading."

Although laws were already in place for pubs to close at 8:00pm, they were not enforced.

"Some hotels were staying open as late as 11:00pm, so they decided they would start cracking down on it with the force of the police as well," Mr Sinnamon said.

"It didn't take very long before some thirsty soldiers and civilians as well took matters into their own hands.

"The incident was sparked just after 8:00pm in Queen Street when police broke up a brawl between two soldiers outside a hotel."

Trams, windows and buildings smashed for amber ale

There are next to no photos of the incident as press photographers were threatened during the riot.

Soldiers used a patented dispenser which eliminated heads on beers. It was a feature of the bar at the Brisbane Army Service Club in 1940. ( Supplied: State Library of Queensland )

"All the press present were threatened. A photographer from the Sunday Truth was threatened by the mob while taking pictures," he said.

According to The Sunday Mail, word spread like wildfire and police were kicking one of the soldiers.

"Within a few minutes hundreds of soldiers flocked to the scene, blocking tram traffic," Mr Sinnamon said.

Police reinforcements had to be called in to control the crowd, however the rioters refused to leave.

"The crowd were shouting 'roll out the barrel, we want beer'," Ms Sinnamon said.

"The police had their work cut out as patrons of theatres and cinemas came out, so it was a traffic nightmare and traffic was diverted into Adelaide and Elizabeth streets.

"The soldiers that were interfering were running after trams through Queen Street, causing some to come to a standstill as they broke off the tram poles connecting it to the overhead wires.

"Windows were smashed and fights broke out between soldiers and tram workers and military police were called in too."

Regaining order in the city centre

The riots continued with the mob kicking in the door of His Majesty's Hotel around 11:00pm with police powerless to stop them.

"This was followed by a surge on the Grand Central Hotel, as the mob kicked in the plate glass doors, smashed every window and showcase," Mr Sinnamon said.

"The police had attempted to line-up two deep and prevent the crowd from getting in but they were pushed aside."

Mr Sinnamon said some soldiers managed to steal a 10-gallon (38-litre) keg of beer, which they proceeded to roll down Queen Street while singing Roll Out The Barrel.

"It wasn't until they sat down to have a drink they discovered there was no tap for the keg but managed to break it open," he said.

Peace was restored at 12:30am, although 5,000 rioters were still present in the CBD later that Sunday morning.

History buffs can learn more about Brisbane's quirky mob past and other quirky Queensland stories by searching the State Library of Queensland One Search catalogue.