Karratha, Port Hedland mark King's Birthday public holiday before rest of WA
Residents and businesses in the City of Karratha and the Town of Port Hedland are the only two local governments with alternative dates for the King's Birthday public holiday, which is observed at the end of September for the rest of WA.
Under the Public and Bank Holidays Act 1997, local governments may request the King's Birthday public holiday be celebrated on an alternative date of significance within its district.
The FeNaClNG festival and Hedland Cup justify the holiday for the City of Karratha and the Town of Port Hedland, respectively.
The City of Karratha has held the different date since 1996.
Earlier this year, almost 80 per cent of respondents in a City of Karratha survey voted in favour of maintaining the public holiday in August for another three years.
The FeNaClNG festival started in 1972 and is named after the formulas for iron, salt and natural gas, representing some of the Pilbara's largest resources trade.
Festival attendee Sherry Fitzgerald has participated in the event for nearly 20 years and wants to see the public holiday tradition continue.
"It just brings everybody together, everybody is friendly," she said.
But others, like Hannah Whelan, believe "it isn't really fair" the holiday falls at a different time to the rest of the state.
"People should be able to have the same long weekend as the rest of the state so they can make the most of it, visiting their family if they want to."
'It's a bit strange to me," she said.
While some local businesses take the public holiday, others still choose to observe the September public holiday date.
City of Karratha Mayor Daniel Scott said it depended on the company and the choice of the employer, with some businesses even choosing to take both public holidays.
"If businesses take advantage, their employees manage to get an extra public holiday than everyone else in the state," he said.
However, he noted the holiday can be disruptive for bigger companies.
"There are a lot of businesses that obviously operate in Perth and also have links over the eastern states as well, so it can disrupt a few businesses because they like to have their public holidays all in line," he said.
It's a common issue in Western Australia, where the state government is reviewing its public holiday schedule to align holidays like the King's Birthday, Labour Day and WA Day with other states.
If changes are made, regional local governments will still be allowed to celebrate the King's Birthday on an alternative date.
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