Spring Ahead: Five Facts About Daylight Saving Time

By RNZ

While similar hourly shifts occur all over the world, the concept of daylight saving time actually originated in New Zealand. The concept was first formed in the 1890s, although it would be a few decades before the daylight saving time change became a reality.

Here’s a bit of time zone history you might not know about.

It was invented by an insect collector from New Zealand.

George Hudson is credited with the idea of ​​daylight saving time. British-born entomoligist and astronomer, Hudson’s shift work gave him an appreciation for after-hours daylight as it gave him more free time to collect insects. His initial idea, formed in 1895 and presented to the Wellington Philosophical Society, was a two-hour daylight saving time change.

Hudson’s idea was supported by MP Sir Thomas Kay Sidey, who introduced a daylight savings bill annually, beginning in 1909. In 1927, when Hudson was 60 years old, the Daylight Saving Time Act was successful and the clocks were advanced one hour from the first Sunday in November. to the first Sunday in March.

Hudson’s collection of insects ended up being the largest in the country and is now housed in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

It took a long time to go into effect

Despite the fact that the Daylight Saving Time Act was passed in 1927, time change was not very popular in New Zealand. In 1928, the Law was revised to a half-hour shift from the second Sunday in October to the third Sunday in March. It was again amended in 1929, when the half-hour shift was set from the second Sunday in October to the third Sunday in March each year. The period was extended once more in 1933, from the first Sunday in September to the last Sunday in April.

During World War II, emergency regulations extended daylight savings time to cover the entire year; this was reviewed annually and continued until 1945, when what became known as New Zealand Daylight Saving Time (NZST) became New Zealand Standard Time. The old standard, known as New Zealand Mean Time (NZMT), was permanently abandoned.

Daylight saving time didn’t reappear until the 1970s

The concept of daylight saving time as we know it today didn’t take effect until 1974, when it was retested for a year. This time, the time change was one hour ahead of the NZST and ran from the first Sunday in November to the last Sunday in February. Daylight Saving Time was officially introduced in 1975, but the dates were changed once again, from the last Sunday in October to the first Sunday in March.

Not everyone agrees

While the 1974 trial was popular with most New Zealanders, the change over time was not right for everyone. It was particularly unpopular with dairy farmers, who didn’t like having to get up in the dark all year long. A Northland dairy town, Ararua, rejected daylight saving time and created its own “Ararua Time” independently of the rest of the country. The city refused to adjust its clocks for several years.

Other harmful effects of extended daylight hours have also been reported, particularly from parents having trouble sleeping young children. Research has also shown that losing an hour of sleep in the spring can disrupt your circadian rhythm, and is also associated with an increase in heart attacks, more workplace injuries, and more cluster headaches.

In 1985, the Department of Home Affairs conducted a survey on public attitudes towards New Zealand Daylight Savings Time (NZDT), looking at its effects on work and recreation across different demographics. Despite farmers’ objections, he found that 76.2 percent of the population wanted the NZDT to continue or spread.

Daylight saving time continues to have its detractors to this day. In 2019, a lobby group called “Take Back the Clocks” was formed and lobbied for the country to adopt permanent ‘daylight saving time’. While there was little interest from politicians in New Zealand, similar pressure groups abroad garnered support and the European Union voted in favor. abolish the daylight saving system by 2021.

Since then it has been expanded several times

Following the 1985 survey, a trial period of an NZDT extended from the second Sunday in October 1989 to the third Sunday in March 1990 was conducted, and the public was encouraged to write their opinions on the extension of five weeks. In 1990, this extension became official in the 1990 Daylight Savings Order.

More recently, public debate in 2006 led to a request from Nelson City Councilman Mark Holmes and United Future leader Peter Dunne to extend the NZDT for three more weeks. It obtained more than 35,000 signatures and ended up being successful. In April 2007, the government announced that daylight saving time would be extended for three weeks, for a period of 27 weeks.

The following year, Research New Zealand surveyed 1,006 members of the public and 494 dairy farmers about how the extended daylight savings period had affected them. The results found that 82 percent of those surveyed supported the extension, while 54 percent of dairy farmers also supported it.

– RNZ