Walk to Work Day is an annual, national event in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
encouraging people to walk to work. The event is an initiative of the Pedestrian Council of Australia, and supported by the
Australian Government
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...
. In 2015, it was held on Friday 13 November.
Event details and history
Through Walk to Work Day, the Pedestrian Council of Australia draw attention to the health and wellbeing benefits of walking. Since 2000 Walk to Work Day has been a national event supported by the Australian Government. 2003 was the first time the event was held on the same date across all Australian states and territories. Several non-government organisations also promote the day, including the
Australian Medical Association
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is an Australian public company by guarantee formed as a professional association for Australian doctors and medical students. The association is not run by the Australian Government and does not regul ...
and the
Health Services Union
The Health Services Union (HSU) is a specialist health union with around 90,000 members working in the healthcare and social assistance industries across Australia.
The membership of the union includes doctors, and allied health professionals ...
.
Herb Elliott
Herbert James Elliott (born 25 February 1938) is a former Australian athlete and arguably the world's greatest middle distance runner of his era. In August 1958 he set the List of world records in athletics, world record in the mile run, clock ...
led a celebrity walk across Sydney Harbour Bridgt for the event in 1999. In 2001, distance swimmer
Grant Hackett
Grant George Hackett OAM (born 9 May 1980) is an Australian swimmer, most famous for winning the men's 1500 metres freestyle race at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. This achievement has led him t ...
backed the event in national media, including in ''The Sunday Telegraph''. In 2003, Prime Minister
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
featured in national Walk to Work Day television and radio commercials.
See also
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Crossing guard
A crossing guard (North American English), lollipop man/lady (British, Irish, and Australian English), crosswalk attendant (also Australian English), or school road patrol (New Zealand English) is a traffic management personnel who is normally ...
*
Walk Safely to School Day
Walk Safely to School Day is an annual, national event in Australia in which primary school children are encouraged to walk or commute safely to school, an initiative of the Pedestrian Council of Australia. It is held annually in May on a varyi ...
*
Walk to school campaign
The Walk to School Campaign is a British campaign promoting the benefits of walking to school as student transport. It is a founder member of the IWALK (International Walk to School) organisation.
The campaign is run by the charity Living Stre ...
*
Walking bus
A walking bus (crocodile, walking school bus) is a form of student transport for schoolchildren who, chaperoned typically by two adults (a "driver" leads and a "conductor" follows), walk to school along a set route, with some similarities to ...
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National Pedestrian Day
Notes
References
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External links
Official Walk to Work Day websitePedestrian Council of Australia website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walk To Work Day
October observances
Annual events in Australia
November observances
Pedestrian activism