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New Caledonia Day
New Caledonia

New Caledonia Day 2025, 2026 and 2027 in New Caledonia

September 24 is a public holiday known simply as “New Caledonia Day”. The holiday commemorates the incorporation of New Caledonia as a French protectorate back in 1853.

YearDateDayHoliday
202524 SepWedNew Caledonia Day
202624 SepThuNew Caledonia Day
202724 SepFriNew Caledonia Day
Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates.

The first contacts between the people of what is now New Caledonia and Europeans were tragic. At first, whalers and sandal wood traders came, and all was relatively peaceful. But soon, diseases spread, and many native islanders died.

Then, when the sandal wood trade declined, the traders started enslaving islanders and shipping them off to Fiji or Australia.

Finally, in 1853, the French led an expedition to the South Seas and seized and formally annexed New Caledonia. This improved conditions some, but things were still rough. New Caledonia became a penal colony, apartheid and discrimination was practiced against the native islanders, and European disease still did harm. Nevertheless, conditions did slowly improve.

A big parade is held each year in Noumea, the capital city, on New Caledonia Day. There are also smaller festive events throughout the territory.

Previous Years

YearDateDayHoliday
202424 SepTueNew Caledonia Day
202324 SepSunNew Caledonia Day