SOUTH MELBOURNE MARKET - MELDING THE PAST WITH THE PRESENT

An old-style market with a modern twist, the South Melbourne Market is a popular weekend destination. Along Cecil Street you’ll find quality eateries covering a range of cuisines from Vietnamese to Spanish, as well as excellent coffee. Within the market you’ll find wonderful fresh produce, delicatessens, butchers, fishmongers and all sorts of specialty foods, delicious French pastries, plus a wide range of household goods, clothing and even a barber. There’s no better place to be on a Saturday or Sunday. 

In 1856 local householders petitioned the then Emerald Hill Council for a market. It took a further 11 years for the market – established on Crown land in what was then the borough of Emerald Hill – to be finally opened to the public in 1867. Situated on 10 acres it was bounded by the St Kilda Railway line, Coventry, Cecil and York Streets.

Initially leased under contract to private operators, in 1904 the South Melbourne Council – as it had become – reclaimed control and began collecting the payment of the market dues by stallholders.

As Melbourne’s oldest continuing market, 2017 heralded the 150th anniversary. The first sheds were erected in 1866, a five and a half-ton weigh-bridge was installed in 1872 and the market was finally lit up with electric lighting by 1924.

The market was virtually destroyed by fire in 1981 when the A and B sheds on Coventry Street were lost at a cost of $150,000. In an extraordinary occurrence in the same year, two bombs were planted at a take-away food stall and a dress shop, and exploded damaging several stalls. 80 sticks of gelignite had also been planted along the Cecil Street façade, very fortunately these did not go off. The person(s) responsible were never found. Unbelievably there were no casualties.

In recent times the market has seen some remarkable architectural initiatives. Original elements of the Victorian style facade remain with the Coventry Street entrance and full verandahs featuring on surrounding Coventry, Cecil and York Streets. Until around 2013 the market was covered by a rather dreary but necessary carpark roof constructed in 1972. A concrete construction, it was leaky and a heat trap for the market beneath.

In 2012 a new multifaceted rooftop was added to the carpark, providing shelter to shoppers, capturing rainwater, generating electricity from solar panels and regulating temperatures inside the market. Designed and implemented by Paul Morgan Architects, it is a melding of disparate architectures, both past and present, providing genuine sustainability and modern functionality.

Open each week on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, the market is a fabulous place to visit, to shop and to enjoy the fantastic lively atmosphere. 

By Michael Nelthorpe, MBC