Public holidays in Norfolk Island
13 days in 2026 · 14 in 2027
Back to Norfolk IslandNext public holiday
Show Day
After it: Thanksgiving Day, Wednesday 25 November
Monday, 12 October 2026
The Administrator's notice in the Norfolk Island Government Gazette lists 13 public holidays for 2026 and 14 for 2027, set under the island's Employment Act 1988. Four of them are the island's own and are not kept on the mainland: Foundation Day on 6 March, Anniversary Day or Bounty Day on 8 June, Show Day in October and Thanksgiving Day on the last Wednesday of November. The rest are the holidays mainland Australia shares, from Australia Day to Boxing Day.
The island's calendar is published year by year, a year ahead, and it does not always move a holiday off a weekend. In 2026 Anzac Day falls on Saturday 25 April with no extra day, while Boxing Day, on Saturday 26 December, gets a Boxing Day Holiday on Monday 28 December. In 2027 Christmas Day falls on a Saturday and Boxing Day on a Sunday, and the gazette adds Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December in their place; Foundation Day on Saturday 6 March and Anzac Day on Sunday 25 April 2027 get no substitute.
- Days off in 2026
- 13Nationwide public holidays
- On a weekday
- 11Monday to Friday
- On a weekend
- 2Saturday or Sunday
- Long weekends
- 7and 1 with one day of leave
2026
Public holidays in Norfolk Island in 2026
- 1 January: New Year's DayThe first day of the year, the first holiday on the gazetted list.Thursday
- 26 January: Australia DayOne of Australia's national public holidays, held on 26 January: a Monday in 2026 and a Tuesday in 2027.Monday
- 6 March: Norfolk Island Foundation DayKept on 6 March, the date in 1788 when Philip Gidley King's party of convicts and free men landed to found the first British settlement. The gazette calls it Foundation Day. The 2027 date is a Saturday, and no substitute day is given.Friday
- 3 April: Good FridayThe Friday before Easter: Friday 3 April 2026 and Friday 26 March 2027.FridayDate moves
- 6 April: Easter MondayThe Monday after Easter: Monday 6 April 2026 and Monday 29 March 2027.MondayDate moves
- 25 April: Anzac DayKept on 25 April. It falls on Saturday 25 April 2026 and Sunday 25 April 2027, and the gazette gives neither year a replacement weekday; the 2027 entry is marked as subject to change.Saturday
- 8 June: Bounty DayAnniversary Day, which the 2027 gazette lists as Anniversary (Bounty) Day, marks the landing of 194 Pitcairn Islanders on 8 June 1856. It is celebrated at Kingston with a re-enactment of the landing, a parade, wreath laying, hymns and a community picnic.Monday
- 15 June: King's BirthdayThe sovereign's official birthday, kept on Monday 15 June 2026 and Monday 14 June 2027. The holiday provider placed it on 8 June 2026, the same day as Bounty Day; the gazette gives the following Monday.MondayDate moves
- 12 October: Show DayThe day of the Norfolk Island Agricultural Show, on the second Monday in October: Monday 12 October 2026 and Monday 11 October 2027.MondayDate moves
- 25 November: Thanksgiving DayKept on the last Wednesday of November: Wednesday 25 November 2026 and Wednesday 24 November 2027. The island is one of the few places outside North America that keeps it as a public holiday.WednesdayDate moves
- 25 December: Christmas DayFriday 25 December 2026. The 2027 date is a Saturday, so an additional day follows on Monday 27 December.Friday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayBoxing DayThe day after Christmas. It falls on Saturday 26 December 2026 and Sunday 26 December 2027, and both years carry a weekday in its place.Saturday
- 28 December: Boxing Day HolidayMonday 28 December 2026, given in the 2026 gazette because Boxing Day falls on a Saturday.MondayDate moves
Long weekends
Long weekends in Norfolk Island in 2026
Runs of three days or more off, with weekends counted, and the working days that join a holiday to a weekend when taken as leave.
- 4daysThu 1 Jan to Sun 4 JanWith Fri 2 Jan taken as leave · New Year's Day
- 3daysSat 24 Jan to Mon 26 JanAustralia Day
- 3daysFri 6 Mar to Sun 8 MarNorfolk Island Foundation Day
- 4daysFri 3 Apr to Mon 6 AprGood Friday, Easter Monday
- 3daysSat 6 Jun to Mon 8 JunBounty Day
- 3daysSat 13 Jun to Mon 15 JunKing's Birthday
- 3daysSat 10 Oct to Mon 12 OctShow Day
- 4daysFri 25 Dec to Mon 28 DecChristmas Day, St. Stephen's Day, Boxing Day Holiday
2027
Public holidays in Norfolk Island in 2027
- 1 January: New Year's DayFriday
- 26 January: Australia DayTuesday
- 6 March: Norfolk Island Foundation DaySaturday
- 26 March: Good FridayFridayDate moves
- 29 March: Easter MondayMondayDate moves
- 25 April: Anzac DaySunday
- 8 June: Bounty DayTuesday
- 14 June: King's BirthdayMondayDate moves
- 11 October: Show DayMondayDate moves
- 24 November: Thanksgiving DayWednesdayDate moves
- 25 December: Christmas DaySaturday
- 26 December: St. Stephen's DayBoxing DaySunday
- 27 December: Additional Day for Christmas DayMondayDate moves
- 28 December: Additional Day for Boxing DayTuesdayDate moves
The holiday provider's calendar for the island needed four corrections against the gazette: the King's Birthday in 2026 moves from 8 June to Monday 15 June, the agricultural show is listed under the gazette's name Show Day, and the substitute days of 28 December 2026 and 27 and 28 December 2027 are added. All are taken from the Administrator's notices.
The 2027 list was gazetted twice. The notice in Gazette No. 28 of 24 July 2026 put Thanksgiving Day on Tuesday 30 November 2027; an amended notice in Gazette No. 29 of 28 July 2026 corrected it to Wednesday 24 November, the last Wednesday of the month, and left the other thirteen dates unchanged.
Common questions
Questions about public holidays in Norfolk Island
How many public holidays does Norfolk Island have in 2026?
Thirteen, as gazetted by the Administrator in July 2025. Eleven of them fall on weekdays. Anzac Day, on Saturday 25 April, and Boxing Day, on Saturday 26 December, fall on weekends; Boxing Day gets a replacement on Monday 28 December, and Anzac Day gets none.
What is Bounty Day on Norfolk Island?
Anniversary Day, kept on 8 June, the anniversary of the landing of 194 Pitcairn Islanders in 1856, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians who went with them to Pitcairn. The 2026 date is a Monday and the 2027 date a Tuesday. The day is marked at Kingston with a re-enactment of the landing, a parade, wreath laying, hymns and a picnic.
Why does Norfolk Island have Thanksgiving?
The island keeps Thanksgiving Day as a public holiday on the last Wednesday of November, which in 2026 is Wednesday 25 November. The sources on file record the custom without explaining how it began. The date is the island's own: it is not the American fourth Thursday, and mainland Australia has no such holiday.
Is the King's Birthday on the same day as on the mainland?
Not necessarily. Norfolk Island sets its own dates by gazette. For 2026 it gives Monday 15 June, a week after Bounty Day, and for 2027 Monday 14 June. A widely used holiday calendar placed the 2026 day on 8 June, the same day as Bounty Day, which the gazette does not support.
Does Norfolk Island give a day off when a holiday falls on a weekend?
Sometimes, and the gazette decides each case. Christmas and Boxing Day falling on a weekend get replacement weekdays: Monday 28 December 2026, and Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December 2027. Anzac Day on Saturday 25 April 2026 and Foundation Day on Saturday 6 March 2027 get no replacement.
Why is Foundation Day kept on 6 March?
A public holiday on 6 March, the date in 1788 when Philip Gidley King landed with fifteen convicts and seven free men to found the first British settlement on the island. The date was a Friday in 2026, Friday 6 March, and is a Saturday in 2027, with no substitute day given.
When does Norfolk Island hold Show Day?
On the second Monday in October, for the Norfolk Island Agricultural Show: Monday 12 October 2026 and Monday 11 October 2027. It is one of four holidays the island keeps that the Australian mainland does not, with Foundation Day, Bounty Day and Thanksgiving.
Dates from Nager.Date, read 2026-10-03. The page counts from Saturday, 3 October 2026, the day it was built.