Queenscliffe Community Market
Running since 1979 and raising more than a million dollars for the borough, this market fills Lower Princess Park on the last Sunday of the month from September to May.
About this market
Two local women started the Queenscliffe Community Market in 1979, and it has run on the last Sunday of the month from September to May ever since. In the late 1980s it moved to Lower Princess Park, where it still trades from 9am to 2pm. Across those four decades the market estimates it has given more than a million dollars back to the borough, which for a market that opens nine times a year is a remarkable running total.
A market that exists to fund the town
The structure explains the figure. A voluntary committee of local residents governs the market, and since 2008 the day to day work has been done by volunteer parents from Queenscliff Primary School. Costs stay low because the labour is donated, so takings flow through to community projects rather than to overheads. Recent years have averaged around $25,000 in donations annually.
Those donations are visible around town rather than abstract. The Princess Park playground was funded this way, as was a set of beach wheelchairs that make the Queenscliff foreshore usable for people who could not otherwise get onto the sand. The market has also backed local festivals and infrastructure upgrades. Shopping here genuinely routes money into the borough, which is not something most markets can claim so directly.
Market at a glance
Before you go
The seasonal calendar is the thing to get right. The market runs September to May and sits out the winter, so a June, July or August trip to Queenscliff will not find it open. The last Sunday is the fixed point, which occasionally means a five week gap between markets when a month falls awkwardly. Trading runs a long day by market standards, 9am to 2pm, so an unhurried late morning arrival still works.
Day to day running of the market has been handled by volunteer parents from Queenscliff Primary School since 2008, and the money raised has paid for the Princess Park playground and a set of beach wheelchairs.
Queenscliff is a ferry ride from Sorrento as well as a drive around the bay, and a market Sunday is a good reason to take the crossing. Parking at Lower Princess Park is plentiful, which is unusual for a Queenscliff weekend in summer, when the town centre fills quickly. The market keeps its own website with each season's dates confirmed ahead of time.
Frequently Asked Questions
- When does the Queenscliffe Community Market run?
- The last Sunday of the month from September through to May, from 9am to 2pm. It does not run over the winter months.
- Where is the market held?
- At Lower Princess Park in Queenscliff, where it has been held since the late 1980s. There is plenty of parking at the market.
- Where does the money go?
- Into local community projects. The market estimates it has donated in excess of $1 million across forty years, averaging around $25,000 a year recently.
- What are Queenscliffe Community Market opening hours?
- The last Sunday of the month, September to May, 9am to 2pm. The market is at Queenscliff, VIC.
- What time does Queenscliffe Community Market open?
- 9am to 2pm on the days it trades.