Summary

Eight Hour Day committee fob (medal) issued in 1915

The Eight Hours Committee co-ordinated the annual Eight Hours Day procession, an event that commemorated the negotiation of an 8-hour working-day in 1856. The day of the procession, later known as Labour Day, was legislated as a public holiday in Victoria in 1879. All Australian states and territories ultimately enacted a Labour Day public holiday. The 8-hour day procession was Melbourne's biggest annual procession, followed by a large picnic and sports event in the city's south. After World War II the procession withered, and was superseded in the 1950s by the Moomba procession, which encompassed much broader themes. Despite being held annually from 1879, little material from the Eight Hours Day processions survives.

Physical Description

Blue and silver enamel medal.

Obverse Description

In centre, 3 intersecting figure 8's in white enamel edged in silver. 3 light blue enamel bands edged in silver, with LABOR / REST /RECREATION in silver. Around, on dark blue enamel edged in silver, MELBOURNE EIGHT HOURS COMMITTEE . 1915.

Reverse Description

Stamped C. BENTLEY / ST. SILVER

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