Cyron’s photo is of Boxing Day, not Good Friday, but you get the idea. Deserted.

Even if you’re not religious, Easter is a special time in Australia. It’s the first big public holiday after the January holiday season, and millions of people head on family holidays, and other escapes from working too hard.

Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Monday are all public holidays in Queensland, although a lot of retail workers will have to go to work on Saturday. But the people who work 5 days a week or more traditionally get a four-day weekend, and many make the most of it.

Even the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s national NewsRadio station in Sydney has packed up, headed off to the coast for the weekend, and flicked the switch over to relay the BBC World Service

If you really need to buy something, you can still try heading into Brisbane’s Chinatown, especially Burlington’s Supermarket (they sell a small variety of cow’s milk) in the Chinatown Mall (Duncan St Mall) - click here to see the exact location. Many restaurants in the Valley there appear to be family owned, so can afford to work right through the holidays.

And of course there are people in the emergency services, in call centres, working in hospitality and tourism, and so on, who don’t get to rest at all this weekend.

But for many, the four-day break is a cherished way to lose a bit of stress. I don’t know what we’d do without holidays - I know a lot of people have to work pretty hard.

Enjoy your Easter break.

UPDATE:

Visiting musician ?uestlove isn’t quite so pleased:

[youtube]1FmIa8k-QKk[/youtube]

I can’t find any sign of him playing a gig in Brisbane, but if you want to find out more about his music you can hear 3 tracks at his myspace page.

?uestlove also has an entry on wikipedia.

And here’s what at least one person does when he otherwise would have been working:

[youtube]5ZmHpuffIoc[/youtube]

“Boarding the Brisbane River“, by YouTube user flyingdonky.