Day Light Saving Starts 3rd October 2021

This weekend on Sunday 3^rd October will be the start of Day Light Saving (DST), time to turn your clocks forward one hour before you go to bed on Saturday night. Sunrise and Sunset will be about an hour later, which will make it easier to enjoy outdoor activities after work, and to have evening BBQs without it getting dark before dinner is cooked. Norfolk Island first observed Daylight-Saving Time in 1974 and it was observed for three years. I found it interesting to read that New Zealand also trialled and re-introduced Day Light Saving in 1974 - 1975.

In 2017, the local Norfolk Island Regional Council, NIRC, held a community survey, regarding the Norfolk Island time zone and 85% of the respondents strongly supported changing the Norfolk Island time zone. The Norfolk Island time zone had been previously adjusted a few years earlier (2015), from UTC +11.5 to UTC +11.0, our clocks were changed by half an hour, which meant extremely early sunrises in the summer months and early sunsets. Norfolk Island re-introduced Day Light Saving for the 2019 summer, and many welcomed the re-introduction of Daylight Saving for Norfolk Island.

Day Light Saving is to assist with the enjoyment of the Summertime hours and as these areas are in the lower areas of the Southern Hemisphere, the adjustment assists in maximising the use of daytime activities. Day Light Saving can also reduce the use of lighting therefore reduce the cost of energy charges. Sunrise and sunset will be about 1 hour later, so it will be lighter in the evenings.

Day Light Saving will commence the first Sunday in October, adjusting time forward one hour and then on the first Sunday in April the time is returned back one hour. This year starting 3^rd October 2021 to 3^rd April 2022.

Australia states which are included in DST starts the same day as Norfolk Island, 3^rd October 2021 and ends 3^rd April 2022.

New Zealand DST starts a week earlier 26^th September 2021 and ends 3^rd April 2022.

This month was also the Spring Equinox on Thursday 23 September 2021.

https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/september-equinox.html

The September equinox is the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator—an imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s equator—from north to south. On the days of the equinoxes, the Earth’s axis is perpendicular to the Sun’s rays, meaning that all regions on Earth receive about the same number of hours of sunlight. In other words, night and day are, in principle, the same length all over the world. This is the reason it’s called an “equinox,” derived from Latin, meaning “equal night.”

The March and September equinoxes mark the beginning of the spring and autumn seasons on Earth, according to one definition. The equinox in September is the start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of spring south of the equator. However, this isn’t entirely true. In reality, equinox days don’t have exactly 12 hours of daylight.

With the start of Daylight Saving, don’t forget if you are calling friends and family across the ditch in New Zealand and Australia, there is now a difference in time zones which will also affect the TV viewing times. Now that the summer season is just about to start, it is time to enjoy the Norfolk Island outdoors. I love to spend time at Emily Bay and enjoy BBQ watching the sunsets.

Betty Matthews

October 2021