History meets hospitality in Wellington this Labour Day Public Holiday, with venues urging locals to make the most of their hard-fought ‘recreation time’.
New Zealand’s public holiday history owes much to Wellington, home of early carpenter Samuel Parnell and one of the world’s first eight-hour workdays.
He famously declared, “eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep and eight hours for recreation”, when he arrived in Wellington from London in February 1840.
By October that same year, Welly’s tradesmen held mass meetings on Lambton Quay to solidify the standard, just steps from the historic pub, The Old Bailey.
The Old Bailey has confirmed it’s open from 11 am on the Labour Day public holiday, with happy hour and cocktail hour specials from 3 pm and 5 pm, respectively. They’re also offering a steak night on Saturday, October 24, and a Sunday Roast with all the trimmings from 11.30 am on Sunday, October 25.
Despite securing his own eight-hour workday standard, Parnell made it his business to walk up and down the Wellington waterfront warning arriving tradespeople to demand the same.
St John’s Bar and Eatery now sits on the Wellington waterfront, keeping an eye on the harbour while locals relax outside and continue Parnell’s harbourside watch.
The art-deco-themed venue, with a history tied to the Wellington Free Ambulance, will be open throughout the long weekend, with social hour deals, live music, and a Sunday roast on offer.
Parnell retired in central Wellington in the mid-1870s and spent his final years on Cambridge Terrace, near Courtenay Place.
Welly locals can enjoy near-panoramic views of that area from the city’s best rooftop bar, Dirty Little Secret, while enjoying a cocktail and a $20 burger between 12 pm and 5 pm all weekend long.
More on our radar here
