Picnic Day is a local public holiday in the Northern Territory in Australia. The holiday is observed annually on the first Monday in August.
The origin of the Northern Territory Picnic Day is not completely clear. According to one source on Picnic Day the freeing of approximately 3000 Chinese Coolie workers is commemorated. The Chinese Coolies (they were actually slaves) provided the cheap labour for the construction of the North Australian Railway, a track that connected the cities of Darwin and Larrimah. After completion in 1889 the workers were given the right to stay in Australia as free citizens and received sufficient money for a passage by steamboat to Hong Kong. However the Chinese went to the Adelaide River for a picnic instead.
Another source relates Picnic Day as well with the North Australian Railway. It mentions that the day was originally installed for the hard working rail workers to enjoy a picnic on the Adelaide River.
A last source states that Picnic Day has originated from a race meeting in 1947. The event was such a success that it became an annual tradition now known as the Harts Range annual races. An application was presented to the Northern Territory administration for a public holiday coinciding with the future dates of the Harts Range races. The administration agreed to it and baptized the day as the Northern Territory Picnic Day.
Nowadays Picnic Day in the Northern Territory above all, is a long weekend to relax or enjoy a short trip. However both the railway picnic and the Hart Range races remain popular activities during Picnic Day and the weekend before Picnic Day.
Holiday | Date | Week number | Days to go |
---|---|---|---|
Picnic Day 2006 | August 7, 2006 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2007 | August 6, 2007 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2008 | August 4, 2008 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2009 | August 3, 2009 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2010 | August 2, 2010 Monday | 31 | - |
Picnic Day 2011 | August 1, 2011 Monday | 31 | - |
Picnic Day 2012 | August 6, 2012 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2013 | August 5, 2013 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2014 | August 4, 2014 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2015 | August 3, 2015 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2016 | August 1, 2016 Monday | 31 | - |
Picnic Day 2017 | August 7, 2017 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2018 | August 6, 2018 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2019 | August 5, 2019 Monday | 32 | - |
Picnic Day 2020 | August 3, 2020 Monday | 32 | - |
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December 2024
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