Is
it a good life if you spend almost every waking hour working for
money? If you never get time to relax, see your friends and family,
read a book, watch a movie, attend a baseball game or a rock
concert...if you never have a break to go camping or visit a faraway
relative or tour a nearby national park...if you only have time to
sleep and work, with a few minutes for a shower or a quick meal, here
and there... Well, that's not a very good life, is it?
On
the other hand, is it a good life if you don't have any work and
therefore no money?
A
good life is a life that has a balance of work and play, time with
family and friends and time alone, time to exercise and time to rest.
In many different times and places, in the history of the world, it
was hard to achieve that balance. But laws about working conditions
have helped. One of those labor laws was a law that set up the
eight-hour workday in Australia.
Before
the law, factories and other employers had workers slave away ten or
twelve hours a day, six days a week. The law induced employers to
establish 8-hour days instead.
It
was a huge victory for workers who had protested and marched to
achieve the 8-hour day. In honor of this victory, the various states
and territories of Australia celebrate Labour Day or Eight Hours Day
in various months. In Tasmania, the holiday is today!
Where
in the world is Tasmania?
Tasmania
is an island state that lies to the south of the continent.
(Actually, the main island is surrounded by 334 tiny islands that are
also included as part of Tasmania.) Thousands of years ago, Tasmania
was joined to the rest of Australia, but when it separated about
10,000 years ago, the plants, animals, and native peoples were cut
off from those on the mainland. Today the island is known for its
unique flora and fauna—but unfortunately not for the unique
cultures of the indigenous people, since they died out in the late
1800s or very early 1900s.
Another
unique thing about Tasmania is its landforms. There are rock columns
called the Organ Pipes (left). 
There are mountains that are made almost completely
of quartzite, and so they look like they are capped with snow all
year long (right).
There are distinctive cliffs formed from dolerite and
magnificent caves formed in limestone (below).
With almost 37% of the land
set aside in reserves and national parks, Tasmania sounds like a
grand place to visit!
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