Smythesdale Country Market

Smythesdale Country Market is organised by the Woady Yaloak Historical Society and runs on the third Saturday of each month, except January, from 9am to 1pm. It is held in the town's historic precinct on Brooke Street, and the money it raises goes straight back into looking after that precinct.

A market that maintains a heritage precinct

The market is a fundraiser for the society's maintenance of the Brooke Street precinct, including its buildings and information boards, and its administrative expenses. Shopping here is therefore a way to support the preservation of the heritage precinct you are standing in. The town was established during the Victorian Gold Rush, with its post office opening on 14 July 1854, and it was known as Smythe's Creek until 1864. The old Court House at 64 Brooke Street, which closed in 1983, has been home to the local historical society since it was leased to the society in 1985, and the town also has a bluestone police lock-up built in 1869. Heritage listed sites include the Court House, the Glenelg Highway stone mileposts and the Surface Hill hydraulic gold sluicing pit.

Stalls cover jewellery, soaps, crafts, plants, local produce, tools and food, along with bric-a-brac, handmade goods and preloved items. The market is described as wheelchair accessible.

Market at a glance

3rd SatOf each month

11Markets a year

4 hrsTrading, 9am to 1pm

19 kmFrom Ballarat

Before you go

Smythesdale is on the Glenelg Highway, 19 km west of Ballarat and 135 km west of Melbourne, and had a population of 1,189 at the 2021 census. The market skips January, so it runs 11 times a year.

In January 2026 the society told the Golden Plains Times that its market manager had stepped down and that it was calling for community volunteers to help run the market and organise special events. If you want to get involved, follow the market's Facebook and Instagram pages for the latest.

Check the market's Facebook page for current dates before you leave.