Deloraine Market

Deloraine sits at the foot of the Great Western Tiers, on the Meander River, and the National Trust has classified the town for a streetscape of Georgian and Victorian buildings that survived largely intact. About 2,000 people live there. The market that fills the showground on the first Saturday of the month is the ordinary monthly version of a town that is used to visitors.

A mixed market, in the old sense of the word

Nothing here is specialised. The stalls run to fresh produce, plants, crafts, books, home cooking and bric-a-brac, which is the classic country showground mix rather than a curated producers market, and a market cafe handles food and coffee. It trades 9am to 1pm, and the crowd is a mix of locals doing the rounds and travellers stopping between Launceston and the Tiers.

The calendar is the thing to get right. The market skips January and November, so the run is February to October, then December, and December gets a second market on the third Saturday for Christmas. That adds up to eleven market days across the year rather than twelve, and the two gaps fall in months when people are most likely to assume a monthly market simply runs.

Good to know before you go

Confirm the month first, the date second. A market that takes January and November off catches out anyone planning around a simple first-Saturday rule, and November is exactly when the town is busiest with the craft fair. The showground is on Highland Lakes Road at the edge of town, and four hours from 9am is enough for a proper look plus a walk down the historic main street afterwards. Bring cash for the bric-a-brac and book stalls, and a bag for produce. Tasmanian mornings in the shadow of the Tiers are cold well outside winter, so dress for the showground rather than for the forecast in Launceston.