Paxtons Markets
A monthly Friday evening market in the laneway beside a heritage-listed 1899 warehouse on the Pioneer River in central Mackay.
About this market
The address is the attraction. 10 River Street is the WH Paxton and Co Buildings, a group of offices and warehousing added to the Queensland Heritage Register in 2008, and on one Friday evening a month the laneway and the ground floor fill with market stalls, food vendors and live music from 5pm to 8pm.
An evening market in an old produce warehouse
Paxtons is a night market with a browsing rather than a grocery focus. Stalls run to handmade work and vintage goods, food vendors take the place of a food court, and music runs through the three hours. The riverside setting on the Pioneer River, in the heart of Mackay's CBD, means the market is walkable from the city's restaurants and bars, and a 5pm start makes it an after-work stop rather than a weekend outing. Entry is free and there is no cover for the entertainment.
Market at a glance
W. H. Paxton and Co was founded in 1876 as a wholesale and retail firm dealing in wine, spirits and produce, and doubling as a shipping agency. The 1899 buildings were designed by the Mackay architect Arthur Rigby, with the office block built by Charles Porter and the warehouse by Joseph Vidulich, and a further warehouse extension went up in 1912 to a design by the Brisbane architect Montague Talbot Stanley. A market selling food and goods in that building is a fairly direct continuation of what the firm did there for decades.
Mackay's self-guided heritage walk through the city's heritage and art deco buildings starts at Paxton's warehouse, on the corner of River and Carlyle Streets. The market is at the trailhead.
Good to know before you go
The one thing worth confirming before you go is the date. Every source agrees on Friday, 5pm to 8pm, at 10 River Street, but they split on whether it falls on the first or the second Friday of the month, so the market's own page is the one to trust. Come hungry, since food vendors are a large part of the offer and the three-hour window covers dinner. Parking in the Mackay CBD is easy on a Friday evening, and the riverside walk along Bluewater Quay is a few minutes away if you want to make a longer evening of it. The quay carries two more markets on the two days before this one: the Greater Whitsunday Farmers' Market on Wednesday morning and the Mackay Riverside Market on Thursday afternoon.
Frequently Asked Questions
- When are the Paxtons Markets held?
- Monthly on a Friday evening, 5pm to 8pm, at 10 River Street in central Mackay. Listings disagree on whether it is the first or second Friday, so check the market's own page for the next date.
- What is sold there?
- Handmade and vintage goods, plus food vendors and live music. It is an evening browsing and eating market rather than a produce market.
- Does it cost anything?
- No, entry is free and the market is family friendly.