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       Connect with us
| Yungaburra Markets HistoryToday the Yungbaurra Market is a cornerstone of village life, featuring 250 stalls and bringing thousands of visitors to the village each month. The Market was established over 30 years ago by Bruce Jones and the P&C committee from Yungaburra State School. The market grounds now bear Bruce's name. The history below provided courtesy of J. Collier. The First MarketOn 17th May 1977 a letter was sent to the Eacham Shire Council by P&C secretary Cheryl Williams;
17th May 1977
I wish to ask your permission to conduct a market on the Railway Reserve Yungaburra on Saturday 21st May, 1977 from 10.00 am to 2.00 p.m. for the purpose of providing a market place as an outlet for arts and crafts, fruit and vegetables, cooking and whatever anyone may wish to sell. We also hope to provide a meeting venue for people to barter and chat about, maybe stop for lunch. A fee of $2.00 will be charged for each stall or vendor and this will go towards promoting the markets and possibly provide funds for the P.&C. Cheryl Williams, Yungaburra State School P. & C. Secretary. Tables for fourteen stalls were carried from the school to the Railway Reserve. The First YearGrowth necessitated more permanent stall sites. Ellis Hughes designed tables to slot together. Hundreds of hours were spent preparing the frames. Donated doors and second hand timber was used for tops. The workers inclued Keith and Darryl Borrensen, Bruce Jones, Neil Coleman Jack Coghlan, Morris De Tourner (Sr.), Fred Williams, Kevin and Isabell Mather. Over fifty stalls were booked for the First Birthday Market held on 27th May, 1978 VolunteersVolunteers have done the organizing and money collecting over the years. In the early years that included Sue Poggioli, John Rutherford, Kevin Mather and Doug Burchill. The first paid organizer Linda Scott, was hired 1984, but volunteers continue to play an important role setting up, collecting money, staffing the information booth, and cleaning up afterwards. Business Beginnings - MELTONEThe Yungaburra Markets was an important instrument for our experiments in self-expression and self-sufficience. Every month the markets were there - and we were there: with weeks worth of work poured into whatever we had on display. In the early years our range included puppets, home-made breads, leatherwork, marcrame and a few funny coloured Herbal Skin Fresheners. The Markets - then as it is now (only more of it!) was a relaxed, friendly place where we could rub shoulders with our customers. Literally in our case, as there was always the chance to try our our Chilli Heat Rub on the odd arthritic shoulder - and get feed-back on what our products were like. It was direct contact with PEOPLE, via the markets, that has made our Meltone range as successful as it now is. Markets used to be our big thing, and we relied on them to make an income. Making $60-$100 was the high point of our month in the days when we lived on between $6 and $20 per week and grew most of our fruits and vegetables. We look back fondly on the day we stood nervously behind a stall (1978) and displayed our few wares to even fewer customers, and made $15 to call our own. Then we swapped wares with the other stall holders, as was the common custom when not selling much for the day. Melanie Every. | 29 days to the next Yungaburra Market.
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