Tassie is renowned for its artisan produce and local makers and a variety of Hobart markets puts this on full display. Find farmers’ markets, twilight markets and everything in between…
If there were ever a little island that could, Tasmania would be it. What other area, a good 240 kilometres out to sea, could craft produce to such artisan levels, to the loud and repeated appreciation of the rest of the country, with such little fanfare?
But there’s a lot more going on here than remarkably good feasting. Step out on any given weekend and you’ll see the breadth of incredible things to do in Hobart for yourself.
Hobart and its surrounds now host several markets, each with its own offering – and none further than an hour’s drive from the Tassie capital – where artists, designers, photographers, painters, bakers, florists, apiarists, horticulturalists and farmers sell antique clocks, fat strawberries, striped wallpaper and everything in between.
It’s almost too easy to get chatting with a local by asking about the garlic they’ve grown, the jewellery they’re selling, or the silk dress they’ve sewn. But inevitably you’ll find the conversation at Hobart’s markets will turn to how much you both love Tasmania.
1. Salamanca Market
When: Every Saturday 8:30am–3pm, Salamanca Place, Hobart
The first Salamanca Market was held near Hobart’s silos in 1972 with 12 stalls. Now, there are some 300 stalls each weekend, and up to 25,000 people can descend on Salamanca Place in one day.
Organic fruit and veggie vendors sell fresh produce across from the second-hand bookstall; buskers play folk music just along from the tea stall; nearby is a great cheese place and just across from them is someone selling felt hats.
In other words, this Hobart market gives you everything you need, once a week.
Our find: a handmade Huon pine cheese board.
2. Farm Gate Market
When: Every Sunday 8:30am–1pm
Where: Bathurst Street between Elizabeth and Murray Street, Hobart.
Hobartians now wonder aloud what they used to do on Sundays before Farm Gate Market started in town back in 2009. This Hobart farmers’ market is a weekly ode to the fine pedigree of Tassie’s fertile soils and pristine waters, and the fact that everything on sale can be chewed, sipped or planted is what sets it apart.
There are coffee sellers who roast their beans locally, organic butchers whose pigs eat better than they do, and ruddy families offering bundles of freshly harvested rhubarb wrapped in cake recipes printed on brown paper. It’s no surprise this Hobart Sunday market has quickly risen the ranks to become one of the locals’ favourites.
Our find: a bag of organic walnuts from 100-year-old trees.
3. Cygnet Market
When: First and third Sunday of each month 10am–2pm
Where: Cygnet Town Hall, Mary St, Cygnet
The town of Cygnet, with its eclectic population and quaint rural setting, is unique.
Hippies, greenies, farmers, tradespeople, writers, artists and activists share the area with a growing number of mainlanders, who’ve discovered the grass is actually greener and cleaner here and have settled in for good.
Due to this diversity, the Cygnet Market is the most dynamic of those on the outskirts of Hobart.
It is a place where buskers aspiring to play at the annual Cygnet Folk Festival pluck and sing outside, and inside more live music, massage, and plenty of good quality local products and produce can be found – amongst the usual market stuff.
Our find: a 1920s-style handmade hat.
4. Margate Train
When: Most shops open daily 10am–5pm (hours vary between shops and seasons),
Where: 1567 Channel Hwy, Margate
Originally known as the Tasman Limited, the Margate Train – the last passenger train of the Apple Isle – felt its final rush of steel beneath its many wheels way back in 1978. Now stationary beside the Channel Highway, it has found a new lease on life as a market space.
Stall owners are privy to temporary leases and tenants thus far have included pre-loved footwear and clothing, a lolly shop, edible goods from Europe and South Africa, handmade and vintage-inspired treasures and collectable toys.
When you’ve run out of steam, the Pancake Train Café awaits.
Our find: a quirky cloud-shaped brooch made from Tasmanian blackwood.
5. Kempton Blue Place Market
When: Third Sunday of each month 10am–2pm
Where: The blue church building, Main St, Kempton
In a blue, Baltic-pine-lined, deconsecrated Presbyterian Church, a small group of ‘ladies’ have been selling their wares for ten years without any advertising, aside from one sign on the highway and one outside the building (‘MARKET TODAY’, it says).
Untainted by the modern world, there’s nothing trendy (or pricey) about this market. It’s all buttery banana cakes, bundles of Barbara Cartland books, chintzy sherry glasses and smelly soaps from Queensland, which means you might just find a bargain-priced gem in the chaos.
One stallholder told us she was in the process of moving house – she’d sold 12 rolls of unused Edwardian Stripe wallpaper to someone that morning.
Our find: a set of eight vintage silver-plated dessert spoons.
6. Hobart Twilight Market
When: The last two Fridays of the month 4.30pm–9pm, at Brooke Street Pier, and seasonally at Lower Sandy Bay
Where: Brooke Street Pier / 17 Beach Road, Lower Sandy Bay
Hobart isn’t a city known for its balmy summer nights, but that doesn’t stop the locals from making the best of what the weather gods bestow; enter Hobart Twilight Market . While the market runs year-round at the Brooke Street Pier location, it’s the seasonal market at Sandy Bay in Hobart’s south that’s the real crowd-pleaser.
Roll on up for a convivial eve among dogs and babies, scout out your favourite food from the sizable food truck line-up, peruse the design stalls, and lounge on the grass while enjoying the live music soundtrack. Hang out at this Hobart market and you’ll fast-track your way to feeling like a local.
Our find: a hand-forged knife with a blade made from repurposed materials.
7. The Tasmanian Produce Market
When: Every Saturday, 9am–1pm
Where: 20 Kangaroo Bay Drive, Rosny
On a smaller scale than Farm Gate, but still well worth a mention, is this market on Hobart’s Eastern Shore. Operating from the plum position of Rosny’s foreshore parklands, you’ll find uninterrupted views of both the Derwent River and kunanyi/Mount Wellington as you browse stallholder’s wares.
You might find honey, jam, bread, preserves, cakes, biscuits, flowers, a rainbow of fresh local fruit and veggies, plus coffee, a smattering of ready-to-eat food stalls and trucks, and handicrafts to boot.
