Koonwarra Farmers Market

The Koonwarra Farmers Market was founded in November 2000, which puts it among the earliest true farmers' markets in Victoria. It was set up by an independent not-for-profit association of the region's growers, producers and specialty food-makers, and that is still who runs it: the people selling are the people who organise it.

Why the founding structure still matters

In 2000, "farmers' market" was not yet a settled idea in Australia, and plenty of markets carrying the name were general markets with a produce corner. Koonwarra was built the other way round, by producers who wanted a direct line to the people eating their food. Two decades on, the association model keeps the stall list honest, because a committee of growers has no incentive to let in a reseller. The market fills Koonwarra Memorial Park on the first Saturday, and when the weather turns it moves into the adjoining hall rather than cancelling, which is the sort of arrangement only a market rooted in its own village can make.

Koonwarra is a very small place on the road between Leongatha and Inverloch, and the market is the reason most visitors stop. It draws from across South Gippsland, a region that produces dairy, beef, vegetables and small-batch food at a scale well out of proportion to its population.

Good to know before you go

Trading is 8am to 1pm on the first Saturday, and the produce stalls are strongest in the first two hours. Bring cash as well as a card, and bring bags and a cool bag if you are driving back to Melbourne, which is roughly two hours away. Parking is around Memorial Park and along the road through the village. Dogs are welcome on a lead. If the forecast is wet, come anyway: the market shifts into the adjoining hall rather than calling it off. The village has a well-known cafe and a few food businesses of its own, so it works as a morning rather than a stop, and Inverloch and the coast are twenty minutes further on. Koonwarra sits on Bunurong country.