What is Spud Monday?
Spud Monday was observed each year as a special holiday on the first Monday of August. We understood that it was to commemorate the plight of the first settlers who became so near to starvation they dug up their seed potatoes, already planted, to use as food. The eyes of the potatoes were replanted to provide the next crop.
Spud Monday was a unique Nelson holiday which lasted until about World War 2. All shops, businesses and schools closed for the day. It became a tradition for hundreds of people to walk the Dun Mountain Track on Spud Monday, and while many only went as far as Third House, while the hardier ones trudged on to the top of the Dun. Parts of the old wooden railway track, held together with long, handmade nails, were still quite well preserved, as were the many beautifully made dry stone walls that lined the track in places. Nelsonians lost a distinctive part of their history with the passing of Spud Monday.
There is no argument that Spud Monday was eventually about the potato and its place in our history. It seems though that the origin of the holiday that was unique to Nelson had its origins in Britain where the first Monday in August was Lammas Monday (Lambs Mass). It was celebrated in the United Kingdom and in 1868 a proclamation was passed by the Provincial Government here in Nelson recognizing the day as a public holiday here in Nelson.
Over time the purpose of the holiday changed until it became something of a tradition to plant potatoes on the first Monday in August. The weekend, was not generally used. The tradition seems to have been stopped by a decision made in about 1939, quite possibly based on commercial reality.
As to the basis of the claim that it commemorated a time when settlers lifted those seed potatoes to feed themselves. That is harder to corroborate but we should not doubt the significance of the humble but much loved potato as an important food source for large sections of the population.
What we are trying to do is bring back the much loved public holiday "Spud Monday" to the nelson region for the first Monday of August 2015. Every like on our Facebook page counts, as we are going to take this to the Nelson City Council, and convince them why we should bring back Spud Monday. Stay tuned for info and updates on Facebook!
To help back our idea of bringing back Spud Monday to Nelson, please sign our petition!
