Burnie City Market

Burnie City Market started out as the Burnie Farmers' Market, which Burnie City Council records as the first community-run farmers market established in Tasmania. It has since moved off the showground and into town, and now sets up in Marine Plaza, the open space behind the Marine Terrace multi-storey car park, on the first and third Saturday of each month from 10am to 2pm.

Sixty-one sites, two Saturdays a month

The plaza has room for up to 61 stallholders, which makes this a substantial market by north west Tasmanian standards without ever feeling like a tourist operation. The farmers market DNA is still the backbone: fresh regional produce sold by the people who grew it, so you can ask what was picked when. Around that core sit food and beverage stalls, handmade baked goods, crafts and handmade products. The council owns the market and Angela Cannell manages it, which is why stall enquiries go through a market manager rather than a booking platform.

The move into the city centre changed the market's character in a useful way. At Marine Plaza it is a short walk from the waterfront and the main shopping strip, which means the market reads as part of a Saturday in town rather than a destination you drive to and leave. There are toilets and a canteen on site.

Good to know before you go

Park in the multi-storey directly beside the plaza and you get up to three hours free, with designated accessible bays. Trading is a four-hour window rather than an all-day affair, so a late-morning arrival is comfortable but 1:45pm is cutting it fine for produce. Bring a bag, and if you want to talk to a grower about what is in season, the middle of the market is the quieter part of the day.