Labour Day was celebrated across New Zealand on Monday 26 October 2026. It’s a public holiday held every year on the fourth Monday of October.
Labour Day remembers the fight for an eight-hour working day. In the 1800s, many people worked 10 to 14 hours every day.
The story begins with Samuel Parnell, a carpenter who arrived in Wellington in 1840 on one of the first ships to reach the settlement. He refused to work more than eight hours a day, and other workers soon followed his lead.
Some workers even met new ships as they arrived, telling newcomers to insist on an eight-hour day. Thanks to this, New Zealand workers were among the first in the world to win an eight-hour working day.
The first Labour Day was held on 28 October 1890, when thousands of workers and their supporters marched in parades in the main cities.
Labour Day became an official public holiday in 1900.
So if you enjoyed a day off on Monday, you can thank Samuel Parnell and the workers who followed him!
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