Spring forwards: Remember to put your clocks forward this weekend

Don't forget to change the time on your clocks this weekend. Photo / Unsplash

This weekend is the start of daylight saving in New Zealand.

Clocks go forward an hour at 2am on Sunday morning - so best to do it before you go to bed on Saturday night. If you have any clocks that need human intervention, that is - many of the devices we use to tell the time nowadays will do it automatically.

While most people know the saying "spring forwards, fall backwards", not so many people know the concept of daylight saving was first thought up by a New Zealander who loved bugs.

In 1895, George Hudson, an amateur entomologist, wanted more time to collect his beloved bugs after work in the evenings. He suggested a two-hour shift to increase the time he could give his sunshine-fuelled hobby, but his suggestion was largely ignored at the time.

The next person to suggest it was Englishman William Willett, a builder and the great-grandfather of Chris Martin of Coldplay fame. He came up with the idea in 1902, suggesting it to the English parliament as a way to prevent people "wasting daylight".
He proposed moving clocks backwards by 20 minutes every Sunday in September to maximise the daylight hours.
Despite having the support of author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as well as Winston Churchill, his idea was rejected by the government of the time.

It was the Germans and Austrians who finally introduced daylight saving in 1916, but it wasn't to stop people wasting daylight or to increase bug collections then.
It was introduced by the two nationalities to save candles and coal power, extending the working day as part of their war effort. They had the idea from Willett's much-publicised campaigning in England and made it a reality.
Soon after, Britain, the Unites States and other countries involved in World War I followed suit, and in the US, daylight saving was originally known as "war-time" as a result.

Daylight saving was finally introduced in New Zealand in1927, 32 years after Hudson first suggested it.

This weekend, remember to adjust your clocks and enjoy the extra hour of sunshine, whether you catch bugs, or simply enjoy a barbecue outside.