Looking at my (US) calendar today, I see that it says, “QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY (AUSTRALIA EXC. WA)”. So, what’s the scoop? Western Australia doesn’t like the Queen as much?
I guess us Brits mustn’t like her either. I’ve got a friend in Bermuda, though, and they love dear ol’ Liz.
Seriously: in some places, it’s a public holiday. In other places, it’s not. And Wikipedia tells me that it’s too close to Western Australia’s Foundation Day to justify another day off. And anyway, it’s not even her real birthday, the selfish cow.
I dug up the Public Holidays list for Western Australia. They celebrate it. Just at a different time. And they allow local municipalities to change the date at will too.
Australia doesn’t celebrate Her Majesty’s birthday on the right day, because it’s too close to other holidays, i.e., Easter* and Anzac Day. So it gets shifted to another part of the year, because you don’t want to waste a good excuse for a holiday. And the decision is made state by state, not federally, so it’s possible for Western Australia to be different.
- Yes, I know that Easter is not a holiday in the secular republic of the USA, but Australians get Good Friday and Easter Monday off. Some even get half of Holy Thursday and/or Easter Tuesday, to make it into a really good long weekend.