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Story: Weekends

Early Closing Association protest advertisement, 1879

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Early Closing Association protest advertisement, 1879

This 1879 advertisement by the Drapers' and Clothiers' Early Closing Association calls on workers to shop before 6 p.m. on Saturdays. As Saturday was pay day for most workers, Saturday night was a big shopping night, with many shops staying open until after 11 p.m. Shop workers and their supporters formed Early Closing Associations, with the aim of reducing the long hours shop assistants had to work on Saturdays.

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National Library of New Zealand, Papers Past

Reference: Evening Post, 12 December 1879, p. 3

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Peter Clayworth, Weekends – Saturday – pay day, work day, half-holiday, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/document/39783/early-closing-association-protest-advertisement-1879 (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Peter Clayworth, published 30 November 2012.