All posts by Camberwell Sunday Market

Established by Balwyn Rotary in 1976, the Camberwell Sunday Market has become a Melbourne weekend institution. Our market is known for specialty items that are retro, vintage or nostalgic. We love being part of 'old Melbourne' and helping you find things you will find nowhere else. And environmentally friendly - wow - we have been lowering the carbon footprint of Melbourne for years by recycling and reselling second hand items in nearly 400 weekly stall. Discover a Treasure. Discover a Cause. Discover Camberwell.

ANZAC Day – We will remember them

We will be open Sunday April 23rd ahead of ANZAC Day on Tuesday. Many people have discovered items related to historical military service at the Market.

Remembrance of service and sacrifice is important and too often families may be unaware of their family’s service. This often emanates from the brutal reality of mechanised warfare that the world experienced in WW1.

Indeed, known as the ‘war to end all wars”, Great War veterans often could not speak of their war service and often never mentioned it to their children or spouses.

Suffering in silence, WW2 and other conflicts also saw the same code of silence. Often two or three medals may be all a family knew as “shell shock” made discussing service incredibly difficult.

Today the mental health impact on veterans is well known and it’s understood that anxiety, depression and PTSD impacts not only makes communication of traumatic events hard, but also hides much deeper wounds.

As we commemorate the Centenary of ANZAC, many Australians are learning more of their family’s service. With that often comes a desire for families to find momentous, memorabilia, photos or other items.

While genuine medals and rare items are expensive, there are many low cost items to you can discover.

  • The above image is a $15 post-WW1 book. While the book was damaged, several pages were beautifully illustrated and suitable for framing
  • Wartime postcard also look good framed. Try to get a postcard with the intact stamp and postmark. The message will be a talking point and can be framed in double sided table frame for full viewing! Postcards can range from $5 to about $30 depending on the content
  • Period cigarette cards are often colourful and interesting pieces. Some times you can pickup embroidered cards or sweetheart broaches that were given as gifts.
  • Consider badges, buttons and other small items too.

Remembrance can mean different things to different people. So whether you attend a ANZAC Day parade or Service, or discover a WW1 treasure to display: we will remember them.

Join us Easter Sunday morning and help raise funds for great causes and charities

‪Join us Easter Sunday morning from 6:30am. Camberwell Sunday Market is a great way to help the community and enjoy yourself at the same time.

Donations: Over 40 years, gold coin donations and fees from stall stall holders have raised millions of dollars for those in need and worthy causes. Each stall holder and all visitors have contributed to both Australian and international humanitarian projects.

Spending a Sunday morning at the Market helps local projects:

  • From the Boroondara Literary Awards, to specialists emergency room training facilities at Box Hill Hospital and supporting the Box Hill Miniature Steam Railway – for kids of all ages. Rotary runs a day especially for special needs children and their families;
  • Market proceeds have supported important medical research, recovery aid for devastated earthquake areas and provided scholarships for Indigenous Australians. And that is some of the work you support by visiting the Market!

Recycling: While the term ‘soc-ent” has become popular over the last few years, we have been operating as an original ‘social enterprise’ for over 40 years. We provide a meeting place for environmentally responsible recycling of goods that may otherwise be lost through time.

Community: Over the decade, the Sunday Market has become a weekly part of many people’s lives. Once children and adults bringing their own children, the character and atmosphere has made the Camberwell Sunday Market an intimate, unique and iconic part of weekends in Melbourne.

🥁 Music

🌭 Hot food

⛽️ #Retro stuff

🎙 Antiques

🏺 Collectibles

👠 Fashion

🚂 Vintage

🖼 Art & #craft

🚀 Memorabilia

🎛 Mancave Stuff

🗜 Old Tools

🐩 Dogs allowed

🐇 Open Easter

⏰ Sundays 6:30am – 12:30pm!

#sundayfunday #sundaymorning #sundays #sundaymarket #melbourne #victoria #australia #thingstodo

We are open every weekend through the year!

Join us Sunday at the Camberwell Sunday Market for:

🥁 Music by Hello Tut Tut

🌭 Hot food

🍇 Camberwell Fresh Food Market

⛽️ Retro stuff

🎙 Antiques

🏺 Collectibles

👠 Fashion

🚂 Vintage

🖼 Art & craft

🚀 Memorabilia

🎛 Mancave Stuff

🗜 Old Tools

🐩 Dogs allowed

🐇 Open Easter

⏰ Sundays 6:30am – 12:30pm &

👔 Camberwell Shopping – We’ve got it all!

Neighbour Day 

Sunday March 26th, 2017, is #NeighbourDay!

Only at Camberwell Market could a tiger cub be a neighbour to an old Holden instrument panel from a 1950/1960s dashboard!

Join thousands of your neighbours at Camberwell and discover the diverse mix of people, stalls, food and music that makes the Sunday Market such a unique community event. Open until 12:30pm.

#sunday #sundayfunday #sundaymarket #market #camberwell #camberwellmarket #melbourne #victoria #australia

Retro research for your find

One of the fun parts of discovering a unique item is doing research to uncover the history or background to your special find.

Unlike 20 years ago, the days of traveling around to uncover information are largely over. 90% of the information you can find on the internet, but don’t forget the value of libraries and other resources like the National Archives of Australia (NAA).

Before you hurry off to research your special item, one of the best sources of information is the person you purchase it from. Often with collectible and Market sales, you will not get a second chance ask questions. So gather as much information as you can when purchasing. Ask the seller:

  • Is this original or reproduction?
  •  How old is item?
  • If original, ask the seller to describe how they know.
  • Can you tell me more about this piece?
  • How did you acquire the item?
  • Do you have any additional documents or pieces that came with this item?
  • Do you get many of these items or see many for sale?

Asking these question may give you enough to be armed for a great discussion when you display your item. Visitors to your home, shop or office will usually comment on items that peak their interest. Knowing the basic facts will keep a conversation going for a while.

Now, if your retro, collectible, vintage or antique purchase really has you curious, go to the internet. You may find similar items on eBay, in museum photos or mentioned in blogs.

In some cases, you may need to telephone a specalist museum or university to understand more about what you have discovered.

Discovering a treasure and knowing a little of its story is all part of the adventure.

The above photo has many of the elements of an great retro image. The original is held in the NAA in Canberra. The Archive’s website is a good place to research Australian historical items and also find incredible retro images for inspiration or purchase.

The “car being loaded into a cargo plane” is a classic but rarely seen 1945 image that would look good in any retro cafe or aviators home office. The items number is A1200, L1834 and copies can be purchased from the NAA website.

At Camberwell you may find ‘original’ black and white images right back to the earliest days of photography. You can tell an original by the studio stamp and general look and feel of the photographic paper, its frame or protection.

Reproduction or original, if what you get is what you want, go for it! And enjoy the journey as you research your treasures!