Labour Day - a history
Samuel Parnell
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. Parnell famously fought for this right when working as a carpenter at Petone in early 1840.
Further information
This web feature was written by Neill Atkinson and produced by the NZHistory.net.nz team.
Links
- Related feature: 'Black Tuesday': the 1912 Waihi strike
- Samuel Parnell biography
- Labour Day collection (NZOnScreen)
