And what on earth is 8 hours day in Australia-TAS (I assume thats Tasmania?)
Comes from the Labour movement, it would be celebrating working hours being set at 8hrs per day (plus rest for 8 and 8 for fun), so you can think of it like Labour Day elsewhere. Unions have marches, speeches are given, that sort of thing and sometimes you'll still see the number 8 used in union iconography.
I was bemused by my boss this morning, but that's more a constant state than anything else.