Daylight saving time begins: Clocks spring forward one hour this Sunday

Don't forget to move your clock forward by an hour on Saturday night when you go to bed, as Sunday 2am marks the start of daylight saving time. Photo / Ilona Hanne

“Spring forwards, fall backwards.”

As we move forward into the summer months, time is set to go forward by an hour at 2am this Sunday, September 29, when daylight saving time begins.

That means before bed this Saturday night, people across the country will be resetting the time on their clocks and watches (and probably leaving the one in the car because it’s just too complicated and anyway, it will be correct again in a few months) and feeling slightly ripped off knowing they are losing an hour’s worth of their Sunday lie-in.

If the lack of sleep is bugging you, and you want someone to blame, you can mutter darkly about a bug-loving Kiwi by the name of George Hudson.

In 1895, Hudson, an amateur entomologist who worked for the Wellington Post Office, wanted more time to collect his beloved bugs after work in the evenings. With this in mind, he presented a paper to the Wellington Philosophical Society suggesting a two-hour daylight-saving shift in time to create lighter evenings for hobbyists such as himself to utilise.

His suggestion wasn’t taken up, but the idea didn’t go away in New Zealand or overseas.

A few years later, in 1902, Englishman William Willett, a builder and the great-grandfather of Chris Martin, of Coldplay fame, suggested it to the English Parliament as a way to prevent people “wasting daylight”.

Willett suggested moving clocks backwards by 20 minutes every Sunday in September. Despite having the support of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Winston Churchill, his idea was rejected.

It wasn’t until 1916 that the idea began to pick up favour.

Germany and Austria were the first countries to adopt daylight saving. The two nations had come across the idea thanks to Willett’s much-publicised campaigning in England and made it a reality.

It wasn’t to stop people wasting daylight, however, but to stop wasting candles and coal power, thus extending the working day as part of the war effort.

Soon after, Britain, America and other countries involved in World War I followed suit, and daylight saving became known as “war-time” in the United States as a result.

In New Zealand, it wasn’t until 1927 that Hudson got his wish for extra daylight time, and only one hour - not his originally proposed two.

So when you change your clocks this weekend (and of course, remember to check your smoke alarm batteries too), rather than be grumpy at losing an hour of rest, perhaps give thanks that it’s only one hour lost, not two.

Ilona Hanne is a Taranaki-based journalist and news director who covers breaking and community news from across the lower North Island. She has worked for NZME since 2011.