Most New Zealanders know about the 11 national public holidays, but fewer realise they're also entitled to a regional anniversary day — a 12th public holiday specific to the region where they work. These days are one of New Zealand's more distinctive employment features. No other country has quite the same system of locally administered public holidays tied to provincial history.
New Zealand has 17 regional anniversary days in total, covering the country's historical provinces. Most fall on the Monday nearest to a specific historical date — typically the founding date of the province or region. Three of them follow entirely different rules, which we'll get to later.
How Regional Anniversary Days Work
Regional anniversary days are statutory public holidays, just like Waitangi Day or Christmas Day. Employees in the relevant region are entitled to a paid day off, or time-and-a-half plus an alternative holiday if they work. The "otherwise working day" test applies — you're only entitled to the day if you would normally have worked that day of the week.
The key difference from national holidays is that your entitlement depends on where you work, not where you live. If you're based in Auckland but your employer's business is registered in Wellington, your anniversary day entitlements are based on your Auckland workplace.
Multi-site employers must observe the anniversary day in each region where they have employees working. This can mean managing different public holidays in different locations on the same week.
The Standard Anniversary Days
Most regional anniversary days follow the same rule: they fall on the Monday nearest to their historical founding date. "Nearest Monday" means the Monday that is closest to the anniversary date — sometimes before, sometimes after.
Auckland Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 29 January
Commemorates the founding of Auckland Province on 29 January 1842. Applies to Auckland and Northland regions. Typically falls in late January, making it one of the earliest public holidays of the year.
Wellington Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 22 January
Marks the arrival of the first settlers at Petone (now Lower Hutt) on 22 January 1840. Applies to Wellington and Whanganui regions. Also falls in late January — in some years Auckland and Wellington anniversary days fall in the same week.
Nelson Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 1 February
Commemorates the founding of Nelson Province on 1 February 1842. Applies to the Nelson region.
Tasman Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 1 February
Observed on the same date as Nelson Anniversary Day, as Tasman District was historically part of Nelson Province. Applies to Tasman district.
Otago Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 23 March
Marks the arrival of the first Otago settlers on 23 March 1848. Applies to the Otago region, including Dunedin.
Taranaki Anniversary Day — Second Monday in March
Taranaki's anniversary day doesn't follow the "nearest Monday" rule — it's always the second Monday in March. This is because the original March anniversary dates created conflicts with other holidays in some years.
Marlborough Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 1 November
Marks the establishment of Marlborough Province on 1 November 1859. Applies to the Marlborough region, including Blenheim.
Westland Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 1 December
Commemorates the establishment of Westland Province on 1 December 1873. Applies to the West Coast region.
Manawatū-Whanganui (Manawatū/Horowhenua) Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 3 November
Applies to Manawatū and Horowhenua districts. Falls in early November, close to Melbourne Cup week for those who follow Australian racing.
Gisborne Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 10 October
Marks the landing of James Cook at Poverty Bay on 9 October 1769 — one of the few NZ anniversary days tied to an event rather than a provincial founding.
Bay of Plenty Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 1 November
Falls on the same date as Marlborough Anniversary Day. Applies to the Bay of Plenty region, including Tauranga and Rotorua.
Waikato Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 1 December
Falls on the same date as Westland Anniversary Day. Applies to the Waikato region including Hamilton.
Chatham Islands Anniversary Day — Monday nearest 30 November
Applies only to the Chatham Islands and falls in late November.
The Three Special Cases
Three regional anniversary days follow completely different rules from everyone else, and are worth understanding separately.
Southland Anniversary Day — Easter Tuesday
Southland's anniversary day is always Easter Tuesday — the day after Easter Monday. This gives Southland workers a five-day Easter break (Good Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday). It's the only regional anniversary day that moves with Easter, meaning it falls on a different date every year. Easter Tuesday is not a national public holiday anywhere else in New Zealand.
Canterbury Anniversary Day — Christchurch Show Day
Canterbury's anniversary day is officially "Show Day" — the second Friday after the first Tuesday in November. The Canterbury A&P Show was historically such a significant event for the region that the province designated it as a public holiday. The A&P Show still runs, and the holiday date is set by the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association each year. This makes Canterbury's anniversary day one of the few New Zealand public holidays set by a private organisation rather than legislation.
Hawke's Bay Anniversary Day — Friday before Labour Day
Hawke's Bay's anniversary day always falls on the Friday before Labour Day (the fourth Monday in October). This creates a four-day long weekend in mid-to-late October for Hawke's Bay workers — one of the most generous single-holiday breaks in the New Zealand calendar.
Use the region filter on our public holidays page to see exactly when your regional anniversary day falls this year.
View Regional Anniversary DatesWhat If I Work in Multiple Regions?
If you work in multiple regions, your entitlements are based on the region where you actually work on the day the holiday falls. If you're based in Auckland but happen to be working at a job site in Wellington on Wellington Anniversary Day, your Wellington anniversary day entitlement applies.
For most employees, this is straightforward — you work in one place. For those who travel between regions for work, it's worth clarifying with your employer how they handle regional holidays across different sites.
Do Regional Anniversary Days Count Towards My 11 National Holidays?
No. Regional anniversary days are separate from the 11 national public holidays. Most employees receive 12 public holidays per year — 11 national plus one regional. Employees in Southland get an extra Easter Tuesday on top of that, and employees in regions with holidays that coincide with national holidays may lose one (in which case the regional holiday typically shifts to the next available date).
Your employment agreement may specify additional holidays beyond the statutory minimum, but the regional anniversary day counts as one statutory entitlement on its own.
This article is for general information purposes only. Regional anniversary day dates may vary from year to year. Always verify exact dates with Employment New Zealand or your employer. This does not constitute employment advice.