Haig Park Village Markets
A market in a park planted as a windbreak in the 1920s, not officially gazetted as parkland until 1987, now a national award-winning market.
About this market
Haig Park Village Markets trades in a park with a genuinely surprising origin story. Between 1921 and 1923, horticulturist Thomas Charles Weston planted around 7,000 trees in 14 rows across a 1,780 by 120-metre strip, not for recreation, but as the East-West Shelter Belt, a functional windbreak built after surveyor Charles Scrivener warned that harsh westerly winds threatened the newly built houses in Ainslie and Braddon.
A windbreak that took 66 years to become an official park
That utilitarian shelter belt wasn't renamed Haig Park until 1928, honouring Earl Haig, commander-in-chief of the British Expeditionary Force in WWI, and remarkably, it wasn't officially gazetted as a public park until 1987, more than six decades after the first trees went in. Founded in 2023 by directors Rosie Green and Alexandra Webb, who saw a gap in Canberra's market scene for an outdoor, community-oriented farmers market, Haig Park Village Markets has moved fast: a Highly Commended at the 2024 Australian Tourism Awards and the 2025 Bluebell Sustainability Award for Sustainable Event followed within just a couple of years.
Market at a glance
Reviewers consistently describe a genuinely relaxing, family-friendly atmosphere, praising the international food variety, seating and blanket space for picnics, and a welcoming attitude toward dogs, all set among trees that have quietly stood guard over Braddon for a full century.
Haig Park wasn't designed as a park at all. It began in the 1920s as a purely functional windbreak against Canberra's westerly winds, and wasn't officially recognised as public parkland until 1987, meaning the trees now shading Haig Park Village Markets predate the park's own official status by six decades.
Good to know before you go
Running rain or shine every Sunday means weather won't cancel a planned visit. Bringing a blanket or picnic mat is worth doing given the market's genuine encouragement of relaxed, ground-level seating across the park.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What time does Haig Park Village Markets open?
- Sunday, 8am to 2pm, rain or shine, on the Braddon side of Haig Park, where Lonsdale Street meets Girrahween Street.
- Why was Haig Park originally planted?
- Between 1921 and 1923, horticulturist Thomas Charles Weston planted around 7,000 trees across 14 rows as the East-West Shelter Belt, a windbreak protecting new houses in Ainslie and Braddon from harsh westerly winds. It wasn't renamed Haig Park, after WWI commander Earl Haig, until 1928, and wasn't officially gazetted as a public park until 1987.
- Has the market won any awards?
- Yes. Haig Park Village Markets received a Highly Commended at the 2024 Australian Tourism Awards and the 2025 Bluebell Sustainability Award for Sustainable Event, national recognition for a market only founded in 2023.