Between barbecues, beers, the beach and the grand final biffo on the telly, most of us are unlikely to pause this Sunday, unshadowed by the prospect of work on Monday, to reflect on the origins of the long weekend.

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In NSW, the ACT and South Australia, we know it as the October long weekend, when the clocks go forward and summer appears bright and inviting on the horizon. In Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, it falls in March, in Queensland and the Northern Territory in May. The dates differ, but the significance is the same.

It's Labour Day.

It marks the achievement of some

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