Claude Road Memorial Hall Market
A quarterly variety market in a memorial hall below Mount Roland, four Saturdays a year and no more.
About this market
The Claude Road Hall Market runs four times a year, on the third Saturday of March, June, September and December, in the Memorial Hall on Claude Road. Quarterly is about as infrequent as a regularly scheduled market gets in this directory, and it means the date matters more here than almost anywhere: miss one and the next is three months away.
A variety market under the mountain
Variety market is the local term and it is accurate: the stall list is not restricted to produce or craft, and what turns up depends on what sellers in the district have to bring on the day. That is the honest shape of a quarterly market in a small rural community, and it is why the market is listed in the Kentish Council event calendar rather than run by an operator. Claude Road itself sits in the foothills of Mount Roland, the escarpment that dominates the skyline south of Sheffield, in a farming district between Devonport and the Central Highlands.
Market at a glance
A market that runs one Saturday a quarter is a different institution from a monthly one. It functions as four village gatherings a year rather than as a shopping option, and the hall does the rest of its work between them.
The nearest town to this market is Tasmania's outdoor art gallery. Sheffield, a short drive down the road, covers its buildings in painted murals and has done since the town reinvented itself around them, and it sits in the same shadow of Mount Roland that the Claude Road hall does. The mountain is a conservation area with day walks running up onto the plateau, which is what brings most non-local traffic through the district in the first place.
Before you drive out
Third Saturday of March, June, September or December, and confirm the date, because four markets a year leaves no margin for a wasted trip. Sources disagree on the closing time, giving either 1pm or 3pm, so the morning is the part to rely on. Bring cash and bags. There is parking at the hall. Claude Road is around ten minutes from Sheffield and half an hour from Devonport, and the Mount Roland walking tracks are close enough to make a longer day of it. This is Punnilerpanner country.
Frequently Asked Questions
- When is the Claude Road market on?
- Four times a year: the third Saturday of March, June, September and December, at the Claude Road Memorial Hall. Sources differ on the finishing time, so treat the morning as the reliable part of the day.
- What sort of market is it?
- A variety market, meaning the stall list is not restricted to produce or craft but spans whatever local sellers bring on the day.
- Where exactly is it?
- At the Memorial Hall on Claude Road, in the Kentish municipality below Mount Roland, a short drive from Sheffield.