It's the October long weekend here in Sydney and that's because it's Labour Day on Monday. Labour Day commemorates the granting of the 8-hour working day to Australians. It all started back in the 1800s when most employees would work up to 12 hours a day, six days a week. In 1856, an agreement was made for the 48-hour week and the new 8-hour working day was established. I'm not sure how many people think about the history of this holiday as we all tend to be busy going on getaways, picnics, doing sports and spending time with friends and family. Then again, I suppose these are all the reasons why people pushed for fair working hours in the first place.
We didn't have plans to go away so we decided to enjoy what Sydney had to offer. We started off with an early Saturday lunch in the city. It was a balmy 27 degrees Celsius and Sydney Tower, the tallest free standing structure in Sydney since the 1980s, rose above the hodgepodge of architectural styles surrounding it.
My main aim of going into the city was to view the Field installation at the south end of Hyde Park. One of the best things about living in Sydney in spring and summer is all the events on offer. Field is part of Art and About Sydney, a public collaborative art festival that's going on its twelfth year.
Hyde Park
Field by Out of the Dark
Field is made up of 324 mirror faces. Albeit small, it was an interesting alternate experience of being in a particular space and noticing one's relationship to it. My view of the buildings and trees kept changing as I walked along and so did my view of myself. I pondered how my view of myself tends to do the same thing depending on who or what event reflects it back to me.
In the evening, we went for our usual walk up to Kirribilli but this time it was to view the International Fleet Review fireworks at Sydney Harbour. It was not as crowded as we had feared so we were able to stroll around Luna Park and Milsons Point while waiting.
I loved how the show finished off with the naval ships sounding their horns at each other in unison and in quick succession, as if talking to one another. I wonder if that's how it feels for the navy men and women when they're at sea. It must be comforting when they meet a friendly ship after seeing no land for days or when there's a war on.
Fortunately for us, we didn't have to travel far to get home. The crowd was thick as everyone tried to beat the rush but there really wasn't any getting away from it. I enjoyed walking through the car-free streets with the other revellers. There was a sense of community about it.
Soon enough the crowd trickled out onto the network of streets and we found ourselves happily settled at our local Thai restaurant for some pad thai and vino.
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