QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET: AN INSIDER’S GUIDE
WORDS BY SARAH GORY
There are few places more iconic in Melbourne than Queen Victoria Market. Once a cemetery then a livestock market, it officially opened in 1878 as the fruit and vegetable market that we know and love today.
If you want to take the pulse of a city—get a feel for its rhythms, its language, its idiosyncrasies, its culture—make a beeline for the local market. Melbourne is home to several markets, but without doubt the oldest and grandest of these, in the heart of the CBD, is Queen Victoria Market herself.
The history of the site alone is rich with stories, both mundane and full of intrigue. The land the market now sits on was once Melbourne’s first official cemetery, haunted by the ghosts of both early settlers and Aboriginal people alike. In 1846 the section at the corner of Little Collins and Exhibition Streets became a hay and corn market, the clip clop of hooves on cobblestones echoing across the city. Various produce and livestock markets occupied the area until it officially amalgamated under the Queen Victoria Market moniker in 1878. It remains the largest market in Australia today.
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It’s an overcast and windy Thursday morning, quintessential Melbourne weather, when I ride my bike down to the market to have a chat with the local stallholders. Despite having gone through a considerable makeover, the tan façade of the Meat Hall, originally built in 1869 on Elizabeth Street, looks just the same as it did when I was just a kid. Indeed, I’ve been coming here since I was born. My parents sold jeans out of a mustard-coloured van at Queen Vic right through the 1980s and 1990s. My brothers and I spent our formative years running through those high-ceilinged sheds, our excited shouts muffled by mouthfuls of hot jam donuts, sugared fingers sneaking plump plums into our pockets.
I still come here every week with my two young kids to pick up the week’s groceries, and so I’ve decided to work a little personal shopping into this ‘official’ visit. I’m stocking up on carrot and celery (it’s finally cold enough for soup!) from Donna, who inherited the fruit and vegetable stall from her parents almost twenty years ago—they had it for some thirty years before that—when I mention that my folks used to work here at the market.
‘Hey, Robbo, come here!’
Donna pulls her brother away from some other customers and they both pore over photos of Dad on my phone (balder and older than he used to be).
‘Yep, yep. He worked with his dad on the far side, right? An old Eastern European guy?’
Donna was right. Robbo remembered my family from all those years ago.
Today, one of the cheese shops in the deli is proudly sporting a big ‘it’s a girl’ banner, complete with photos of new baby Sarah. The market is a community, a singular space in a modern city.
‘These personal threads of history, of family, woven through the market make Queen Victoria Market more than simply a place to shop.’
‘There’s heaps more tourists than there used to be,’ Robbo tells me. ‘They come through in big tours during the week. Good for business!’ He laughs. ‘But we’ve still got our locals, like your family, who come every week, rain, hail or shine.’
This sense of everything changing and everything staying the same is the sentiment echoed time and again as I move through the stalls, chatting and shopping simultaneously. The market has changed over the years, from the first Vietnamese stallholders in the 1970s introducing all sorts of Asian greens, to the high-end hipster joints like Padre Coffee and Koko Black chocolates that have moved in over the past decade. And yet in and around these changes, shops are run by second and third generation stallholders—Greek, Italian, Chinese, Anglo—and the ancient stone floors are run smooth by decades upon decades of foot traffic from locals and visitors alike.\
Forkful would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the fact that there are important Aboriginal sites of cultural heritage in and around Queen Victoria Market, including the burial place of Tunnerminnerwait and Maulboyheenner, two Aboriginal Tasmanian men who were the first people to be publicly hanged by the colony.
THE BREAD BOX
A forty-year-old family business, Peter and Michelle are the only bakery in the market that bakes on site. Their croissants are all kinds of buttery goodness, but you’ll need to get in early before they sell out. Also known for their Portuguese custard tarts (and as avid Collingwood supporters).
AMERICAN DONUT KITCHEN
A market staple, this family business was started by friends Arnold and Dane in 1950 and is now run by their kids’ kids. You’re as likely to spot the long queue as you are the van, selling bags of powdered jam donuts (five to a bag) still made according to the original recipe. But don’t ask for the dough recipe — it’s a closely guarded secret!
PAVILION SELECT PRODUCE
When Richmond won the AFL Grand Final a couple of years ago, Dennis celebrated by cutting into a thirty-year-old bell cheese and giving away free slices! Run by a father and son team, Pavilion has an amazing selection of cheeses, dips, olives, honey and antipasto. When I asked Dennis if he had anything to share with Forkful readers, he simply said: ‘Go Tigers!’
THE BOREK SHOP
Nancy and her family have been baking their boreks on site for over twenty years now. You’ll have to the battle the crowds to get one—it’s always five-deep at the counter—but it’s worth it. My pick is the spicy potato and I often pick up some of their Turkish sweets to have with my afternoon coffee.
MARKET LANE COFFEE
It wouldn’t be modern Melbourne without a speciality café. Bring your own cup for a discount and grab a bag of beans to take home with you.
TO MARKET, TO MARKET
Transforming parks and playgrounds all around Melbourne, on any given weekend you can stumble across a farmers’ market. Grab a coffee, chat with the growers and stock up!
COLLINGWOOD CHILDREN’S FARM FARMER’S MARKET
Second Saturday of the month.
An inner-city market on an actual working farm.
ELTHAM FARMERS’ MARKET
Every Sunday morning
With all stallholders selling their own produce, this is a great one to connect with growers.
ELWOOD FARMERS’ MARKET,
Second Saturday of the month
Held in the local primary school, stock up while the kids enjoy the playground.
GASWORKS FARMERS’ MARKET
Third Saturday of the month
Fresh fruit, crusty baguettes, with a side of culture thanks to its location in the Gasworks Arts Park.
HURSTBRIDGE FARMERS’ MARKET
First Sunday of the month
Everything from organic wines to homemade nut butters to heirloom potato varieties.
ST ANDREW’S COMMUNITY MARKET
Every Saturday morning
Homemade knives and organics vegetables, and the famous chai tent to keep you warm.
MELBOURNE UNI FARMERS’ MARET
Lunchtime on Wednesdays
A mid-week produce pick-up, with plenty of readymade lunchtime options.
VEG OUT ST KILDA FARMERS’ MARKET
First Saturday of the month
A slice of the country in the city with everything from the homegrown to the homemade.
