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Celebrated on the fourth Monday in October, Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day, a right that carpenter Samuel Parnell had famously fought for in 1840. Our first Labour Day was held on 28 October 1890, and it has been a statutory public holiday since 1900.
This reports the first Labour Day parade in Wellington, 28 October 1890.
The Eight Hour Day Committee in 1890 - photo
Labour Day float, 1916