It’s the King’s Birthday holiday in Queensland on October 7, a day that Charles inherited from his mum. It’s neither Charles’ actual birthday nor his mother’s.

SportsPick, “Australia’s favourite in-venue live sport companion for pubs, clubs and bars”, and agency, Enigma, think that the public holiday tribute could have a worthier object, one of Queensland’s most revered sporting figures, Wally Lewis. They’re encouraging Queensland workers to swap October 7 for The Real King’s Birthday. Yes, it’s a bold move but there’s logic in the mad idea.

Enigma creative director, Matthew Dawe, explained, “First, King Charles decided not to visit Queensland during his royal tour. And then he expects the state to take a day off and celebrate his birthday on a day that’s not even his birthday. It all just didn’t sit right with us.

“So, we figured, let’s give the day off to someone who truly deserves it – Wally Lewis, the real King of Queensland. He’s given us more reasons to celebrate than any distant royal, and it’s about time we made it official.”

NRL legend, Wally Lewis, is revered as the ‘real king’ of Queensland. His legacy resonates with pride and passion throughout the state, perhaps even more than the current Head of State, King Charles III. He wasn’t just a legend on the field, he embodied the true spirit of Queensland and led them into battle on 30 occasions. 

So Queenslanders wishing to swap October 7 for The Real King’s Birthday can go online to TheRealKing.com.au. Once there, they enter their email, their boss’s email and a pre-populated email is prepared ready to send to their employer to petition them to make the swap. The campaign leverages underused (and probably little known) public holiday substitution entitlements and is being led by SportsPick with support from rugby league icon, Cameron Smith.

 SportsPick spokesperson, Mark Sturdy, managing director of Entain Venues, stated, “We’re loving how much excitement this has generated. Swapping the King’s Birthday for Wally’s has clearly resonated with Queenslanders. We’ve already heard HR departments are feeling the pressure with all the requests, so we’re sorry about that. But what better reason for the extra admin than celebrating the real King of Queensland?”

The Real King’s Birthday long weekend will be celebrated from Saturday November 30 until Monday December 2. A select number of SportsPick venues will be transformed into official King’s Birthday party venues, with royal guests of honour and a party atmosphere all long weekend (long). These venues will be the ultimate celebration of Queensland’s true King, Wally Lewis.

His Royal Highness ‘King’ Wally Lewis commented, “To be honest, when I first heard about the SportsPick campaign I thought it was Gene Miles playing another one of his pranks on me. To know that many Queenslanders are acknowledging me by asking their bosses to swap the public holiday next Monday to celebrate my birthday is very humbling. 

“I’ve had many great birthdays over the years, but this one certainly takes the cake.”