Grahamstown Gazette: Hot water supplied by the Government.

Labour Day has been celebrated in New Zealand since 1890, but has only been a ‘Mondayised’ 
public holiday since 1910. Before then, Labour Day was traditionally celebrated on October 28th and 
was only a full day off for a lucky few. Trade union members and their supporters would hold parades 
with their banners and union colours in the big cities, and most businesses and government 
departments would close for at least part of the day. New Zealand had been one of the first places 
in the world to adopt an eight-hour work day for some trades way back in 1840, but this was not put 
into law for all workers until much later. Consequently, Labour Day was often a day of public protests 
and demonstrations throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

In Thames, the Thames Miners' Union operated more as a friendly society than a movement for workers'
 rights. Founded in 1890, the Union focused less on strike action and more on providing 'practical 
sympathy,' or help for individual union members in crisis. Fundraising for the 'benevolent fund' through 
concerts, dances and other social events was a key part of the union's work.

Locally, Labour Day provided a great opportunity for the union members to get out of town, but not 
necessarily a family holiday. Te Aroha expected a crowd of between two and three thousand people 
for Labour Day 1911, as part of an excursion planned by the Thames Miners’ and Waihi Workers’ 
Unions. The workers planned to have a picnic in the Te Aroha Domain and enjoy a concert and some 
‘hot water supplied by the Government.’ The Thames Star noted in 1909 that country drives to Te 
Aroha were an extremely popular Labour Day pursuit for Thames locals.

During the First World War, Thames locals used Labour Day as an opportunity to add to the Patriotic 
Funds. Labour Day 1916 saw the town raise £300 for the war effort through a mix of donations, sports
 competitions and entries to the evening's entertainment at the King's Theatre in Grahamstown. 
There was also a huge parade featuring the Hauraki Regimental band, 'smart and solider-like' Boy 
Scout groups from across the Hauraki Plains, floats built by local businesses, and 'a large number 
of special, fancy and comic displays.' Labour Day remained a real community event until the 1920s, 
when for most people it started to become just another public holiday.