Mulgrave Farmers Market

Mulgrave Farmers Market has traded every Sunday since 2009 and calls itself Melbourne's first weekly farmers market. It was founded by Graeme Wise, the former owner of The Body Shop Australia, through his Wise Foundation, an organisation focused on giving Australian communities economic independence through direct business opportunities.

Built so farmers could sell direct

Wise's aim went beyond selling produce. The market was designed to let local farmers sell directly to the public, forging community connections and offering a stronger, more direct financial option than the large corporate entities that often dominate primary industry supply chains. That idea still shapes Sunday mornings at Mulgrave Primary School, 23-31 Gladeswood Drive, where the market now trades from 8am to 12:30pm.

The market's stallholder menu lists 24 vendors, with more featured on the homepage. The range it names includes farm-fresh potatoes, bakery goods and scones, cheese, coffee, olive oil, fresh pasta, salami, arancini, berries, herbs, organic produce, mushrooms, Lebanese sweets, barbecue food, sauces and gin. Reviewers single out the organic cheese in particular.

Market at a glance

2009Founded

8am to 12:30pmEvery Sunday

24Stallholders on the vendor list

Gold coinEntry, supports the school

Good to know before you go

Entry is a gold coin donation with proceeds going to the school that hosts the market, so a visit contributes directly to Mulgrave Primary. Several reviewers say the bus frequency to the site is low at weekends, so a car is the more reliable way to arrive, and the market's website does not give parking or accessibility details.

Mulgrave is an eastern suburb of Melbourne, 21 kilometres south-east of the city centre in the City of Monash, with 19,889 residents at the 2021 census. The suburb takes its name from Mulgrave Castle in North Yorkshire, and Sir George Phipps, the Earl of Mulgrave, was Governor of Victoria from 1879 to 1884. It also lent its name to the Mulgrave Freeway, later renamed the Monash Freeway.

Stallholders apply through Issimo Markets, and the market publishes a weekly newsletter and keeps Facebook and Instagram accounts. The phone number on the website is 0420 254 422. Because the market is held in a school ground, it has a family-friendly, community feel that sets it apart from larger commercial farmers markets.