Winnaleah Market
A quarterly car boot sale and market at the Recreation Ground in a farming township of 225 people in Tasmania's north-east.
About this market
Winnaleah's post office opened on 1 October 1912, and the farming township it served in Tasmania's north-east still counts barely 225 people, spread across 72 square kilometres of pastoral and agricultural land. Four times a year, that small population is joined by a car boot sale and market at the Winnaleah Recreation Ground, running from 10am to 2pm on a Sunday.
A quarterly market rather than a weekly one
A market that runs once a quarter is a different kind of event from a weekly produce market: it functions as a gathering point for a scattered farming district rather than a regular shopping trip. Over 40 stallholders set up alongside the car boot sale, and food trucks cover the food side of things. Entry is free. The event also supports the North East Netball Association, which is typical of how a market this size operates in a small community: it is fundraising as much as it is retail.
Market at a glance
The name itself is part of the district's history. Winnaleah is believed to come from an Aboriginal word meaning fire, carried over into a locality that was not formally gazetted until 1969 despite the post office having opened decades earlier in 1912. It sits in the Dorset municipality, about 38 kilometres north-east of Scottsdale, in the kind of agricultural country where a Recreation Ground doubles as the district's main public space.
Winnaleah takes its name from an Aboriginal word believed to mean fire, long before the town itself existed in any official sense. The locality was not formally gazetted until 1969, well over half a century after its post office first opened in 1912.
Before you drive out
The market runs quarterly rather than monthly, so check the date before making the trip, since a missed one means waiting several months for the next. Trading is 10am to 2pm on a Sunday, entry is free, and the venue is the Recreation Ground on Winnaleah Road. Bring cash for the stalls and the food trucks. Don't confuse the market with Elders Winnaleah, the town's general store on Main Street, which trades on its own separate weekday hours and has nothing to do with the quarterly event at the Recreation Ground.
Frequently Asked Questions
- When is the Winnaleah Market on?
- Quarterly, on a Sunday, from 10am to 2pm, at the Winnaleah Recreation Ground. It runs four times a year rather than on a fixed monthly or weekly pattern.
- What will I find there?
- A car boot sale alongside more than 40 market stallholders, plus food trucks. It is a general market rather than one restricted to any single kind of stall.
- Is this the same as the Winnaleah general store?
- No. The market is a separate community event at the Recreation Ground; the town's general store, Elders Winnaleah, is a different business on Main Street.