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.
Labour Day, a public holiday in New Zealand since 1900, is a suitable occasion to
pay tribute to Samuel Parnell, who achieved fame as the founder of the eight-hour
working day in New Zealand.
The first Labour Day celebrated the struggle for an eight-hour working day and was marked with parades in the main centres that were attended by several thousand trade union members and supporters.
