Kingscote Farmers and Artisan Market

The market that runs on the lawn at Kingscote Wharf came out of a problem rather than a plan. After the 2019/20 bushfires and then the pandemic, the Kingscote Farmers and Artisan Market committee looked at a long-vacant stretch of the wharf and set out to turn it into what they called a backyard: somewhere the community and visitors could work, gather and feel at home. The market and the Backyard Project that grew from it now share the same waterfront.

An island market with a fixed address

What is on the tables is straightforwardly local, because on Kangaroo Island that is what there is. Fresh vegetables, cake stalls, food vans, art and photography, soaps and candles, handicrafts and music, all from island businesses. What makes it unusual is the infrastructure. Rather than only pitching marquees each Sunday, the committee secured two grants and built eight stalls out of shipping containers on the wharf, each about 2.9 by 2.4 metres, fully enclosed with front awnings, lockable doors, roller blind dividers, insulation and domestic power. Rent is $150 a month plus metered power. There is no plumbing and no cooking allowed, so the food vans still do that job.

The Backyard Project was conceived by the market committee explicitly to help microbusinesses, side hustles and creative ventures on the island get back on their feet, and the original vision team was Sarah Kemp, Naomi O'Donnell, Alec Hall and the late Sarah Strong-Law, with Kemp writing the grant applications that funded it. The current committee took it from a concept to eight standing stalls. For an island where the tourist season and the population both swing hard through the year, a permanent low-cost trading space is a different proposition from a monthly stall fee.

Good to know before you go

Dates matter more here than at most markets. The season runs roughly September to May with nothing over the winter, and while the pattern is second and fourth Sunday, the shoulder months drop back to one market and the December date sits early. The published date list is the thing to check, particularly if you are timing a ferry. Hours are 9am to 1pm on the wharf lawn, which is exposed, so a hat in summer and a jacket in spring are both reasonable. A mulberry tree planted by the first settlers at Reeves Point in 1836 is still standing a short drive north of town if you want to make a morning of it.