Open Writing

“When we booked, we didn’t realize Monday was a public holiday in Australia,” my husband commented to the hotel receptionist. “What is the holiday for?”

“Oh, it’s the long weekend,” she replied.

“Yes, but what is it for?” he asked.

She thought for a while, and then answered, “I don’t know really, just a long weekend.”

We asked several other people in the course of the day, but nobody could tell us why Australia was having a statutory holiday on Monday. As far as they were concerned it was just a long weekend- a chance to have an extra day off work to socialise with family and friends and to play sport.

By consulting a calendar we eventually found out Monday was Labour Day in the state we were visiting.

In New Zealand we appreciate a long weekend as much as any other nation, but when talking about them we always refer to them by name. For example, we may ask a friend, “What are you doing for Anniversary Weekend?” or, “How did you spend Labour Weekend?”

Not all states in Australia have the same number of public holidays. Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania have 12, South Australia, Victoria, Northern Territory and Western Australia have 11, (as does New Zealand) New South Wales and Queensland have 10. The difference in the number of public holidays in the various Australian States arises from the fact that apart from 9 national public holidays, there is provision for each state and territory to legislate their own public holidays. For example, Melbourne Cup Day is only a holiday in Victoria, Adelaide Cup Day is only a holiday in South Australia and Picnic Day is a holiday peculiar to the Northern Territory.

Although New Zealanders and Australians have roughly the same number of public holidays every year, New Zealanders have every right to feel disadvantaged because in, many instances there is no provision, within New Zealand law, to provide workers with a day in lieu if a public holiday falls on a weekend as there is in Australia. A case in point is ANZAC Day which is celebrated in both countries on 25th April each year. Originally a day to mark the landing of New Zealand and Australian troops in Gallipoli in 1915, it is now seen more as an opportunity to remember not only all those who have died in warfare, but also the contribution made by all service personnel to their country.

Australia celebrates Australia Day, their national day, on 26 January each year with a public holiday. New Zealand does not have an official national day. The nearest we have is Waitangi Day on 6th February, which is celebrated to mark the signing of the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi in which the Maori natives agreed to coexist peacefully with European settlers. The event is largely celebrated at Waitangi, located in the Bay of Islands at the top end of the North Island, by the Royal New Zealand Navy,
Maori, and government and diplomatic dignitaries. Celebrations are usually marred by protests from radical groups who feel a sense of injustice through perceived discrimination against Maori within New Zealand society and those who believe the treaty did not cede sovereignty of the country to the settlers.

If Waitangi Day falls on a weekend it is not’ Mondayised’.

A public holiday to celebrate the Queen’s birthday is held on 1st Monday in June in New Zealand and the 2nd Monday in June in Australia. This day marks her official birthday rather than her actual birthday. The tradition of celebrating the sovereign’s official birthday, rather than actual birthday, was started with the coronation of King Edward V11, who was born in November, when inclement weather in England would likely mar official celebrations. Although June is the start of winter in the southern hemisphere, the weather in most parts is not as extreme as that of a British winter. In both Australia and New Zealand there are no official celebrations apart from the release of a list of recipients of the Queen’s Birthday honours.

After Queens Birthday weekend, there are no further long weekends in New Zealand until Labour Day, which falls annually on 4th Monday in October. The origins of this holiday are traced back to 1840 when the colonist, Samuel Parnell refused to work more than eight hours each day and encouraged other tradesmen to do likewise. On 28th November 1890, the 50th anniversary of the eight-hour day movement was marked with a parade. From then on, the day was celebrated in late October each year. In 1899 the government passed legislation for the day to be a public holiday, however it was celebrated on different days in each province which enable unscrupulous seamen to claim a day’s leave in one port and then another in the next port. As a result, in 1910 the government ‘Mondayised’ the holiday so it would be observed on the same day throughout the country.

In Australia Labour Day celebrates the advent of the 8 hour day as well as the Australian labour movement in general. The actual date of the public holiday is fixed by the various state and territory governments so it varies considerably. In Tasmania it is on the second Monday in March and is known as Eight Hour Day.

New Zealand workers are also entitled to a public holiday to celebrate the anniversary of the landing of the first settlers in the province in which they live, even though the provinces were abolished in 1876. The holiday falls on the nearest Monday to the day on which the anniversary falls.
The remainder of New Zealand’s 11 statutory holidays are made up from Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Day and the day after, Good Friday and Easter Monday. There is provision in law for both Australians and New Zealanders to have a day in lieu if Christmas and New Year holidays fall on a weekend. Although in recent times this has been complicated in New Zealand as only those who would not usually work on a weekend can claim the Monday as a holiday.

Since our vacation I have found out Australia was the first country in the world to institute Labour Day as a public holiday. From then on it became known as the ‘Land of the Long Weekend’. This could well be the reason why all those we spoke to only know the day as ‘The Long Weekend’.
It does seem a pity though that there is a generation of workers who simply accept this holiday as their right with no thought to why it exists and how hard it was fought for by their forbears.