Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets
Canberra's first farmers market, trading since 1965 when growers sold from the back of trucks, now a permanent complex of 25-plus specialty shops.
About this market
Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets started in 1965 as Canberra's first farmers market, and the earliest version of it was genuinely informal: farmers, many of them Italian and Greek immigrants, would "circle the wagons" every Friday and sell produce straight off their trucks. A 1967 Act of Federal Parliament turned that arrangement into something permanent, and construction on the current site began the same year.
From trucks to 25-plus specialty shops
What grew from those Friday truck sales is now a genuine fresh-food precinct: more than 25 specialty shops, covering four fruit shops, four butchers, three delicatessens, two seafood shops, bakeries, cafes, an Asian grocery, an organics store and a wine and liquor shop. Every business is locally and independently owned, which shows up in the kind of product knowledge you don't get at a supermarket.
Market at a glance
Two major redevelopments have kept the site current without losing the original feel: the first ran from 2008 to 2013, upgrading facilities so produce reaches shoppers properly handled, and the second, in 2018, added the Niche Markets wing for gifts, homewares, clothing and flowers alongside the food halls.
The markets exist in their current permanent form because of a specific 1967 Act of the Federal Parliament, a level of legislative attention few Australian produce markets can claim.
Good to know before you go
It's closed Monday to Wednesday, so plan around a Thursday-to-Sunday visit. The Niche Markets wing is worth budgeting extra time for if gifts and homewares are on the list, since it runs as its own section separate from the food halls, with around forty specialty traders and its own later weekday opening time.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What days are Fyshwick Fresh Food Markets open?
- Thursday to Sunday, 7am to 5:30pm.
- How old is it?
- It began in 1965, when local farmers, many of them Italian and Greek immigrants, gathered every Friday to sell produce off the back of trucks. A 1967 Act of Federal Parliament made the site permanent.
- What's actually there now?
- More than 25 specialty shops, including four fruit shops, four butchers, three delicatessens, two seafood shops, bakeries, cafes, an Asian grocery, an organics store, and a wine and liquor shop, plus the separate Niche Markets wing for gifts and homewares.