Every Sunday morning, this suburban car park is transformed into a vibrant, sprawling hotbed for lovers of trash and treasure.
From records to rings, buttons to boots, as long as it’s secondhand, antique or vintage, it’s sold here at the Camberwell Sunday Market.
Entrepreneur Poppy King, best known for her booming lipstick business in the 1990s, said that her heart would “literally skip a beat” as she approached the Camberwell Sunday Market and contemplated the array of potential purchases ripe for the picking.
The market is a beloved ritual for so many. From the stallholders who have been crawling out of bed in the wee hours of every Sunday morning for decades, to the dedicated shoppers who scour the hundreds of stalls driven by the thrill of finding that elusive item.
The market community here is a close-knit one, and many lasting connections have been formed over the years; between the Rotarians, stallholders and regular patrons.
In 2001, two stallholders who had met at the market were married … at the market! The regular vendors – one who sold home-made bow ties, the other irreverent homemade merchandise – invited a host of Rotarians and market-goers to share the occasion with them.
People love the market for many reasons, including the many buskers who have graced the car park’s various “stages”.
Since its inception, the Rotary Club of Balwyn has supported many buskers and performers who use the market as their stage, to entertain visitors as they browse the market stalls.
Saxophonist Neil Whitford performed at the Camberwell Sunday Market for more than 20 years, and his contribution is fittingly commemorated by the memorial plaque on this walkway. The plaque depicts Neil playing the saxophone with his little grey poodle, Benjamin by his side. Together this duo entertained the crowds in the rain, hail and shine.
Camberwell Sunday Market 