History behind South Melbourne Market’s 150 years in business
IT was once just a roof held up by a couple of poles. But 150 years on South Melbourne Market is going strong, and home to some of our favourite snacks, including its famed dim sims and doughnuts.
Melbourne
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MELBOURNE’S oldest permanent market has been a thriving epicentre for 150 years.
Enterprising migrants set up stalls at the South Melbourne Market when it opened on May 1 in 1867, bringing their cuisines and cultures to the mix.
Chickens were plucked at the site, rabbits were skinned and hung on hooks while vegetables and dresses were laid on tables when it opened.
Goods arrived in horse-drawn wagons and lined up along Coventry St.
Just a roof held up with poles, open to the elements, formed the market’s first sheds in the 1866.
Householders petitioned the Emerald Hill Council for a market in 1856 with a site selected two years later.
The market was built on 10 acres — bounded by Coventry, Cecil and York streets — given by the Crown for the Borough of Emerald Hill to used as general market.
There’s been a few moments of bad luck, with fire destroying stalls in the D shed in 1912, and in 1981 a blaze ruined the original A and B sheds in Coventry St.
Two bombs exploded the same year, causing damage to some of the stalls.
But the market hasn’t rested on it laurels.
The Food Hall replaced the market structure in 1991 and a new roof able to regulate temperature inside the market, capture rainwater and generate solar electricity went up in 2012.
About 140 traders have fresh produce, food, homewares to jewellery, pet food, eyebrow threading to vintage books for the picking.
A bell to mark the open and close of trade was installed in January to bring back the tradition.
City of Port Phillip and South Melbourne Market, who own and operate the market, launched the My Market Story campaign this year to uncover the market’s history and mark the milestone.
A third-generation market shopper, Elizabeth Buckle, told the campaign she would ride her bike to the market at age nine to buy hot jam doughnuts for the family.
“South Melbourne Market was famous for its hot jam doughnuts,” Mrs Buckle says.
“They were sold from a van at the side of the market; it was the original food truck.
“You would stand and watch them force jam into the middle of the doughnut, but you had to wait to eat it because if you bit into the hot jam too soon you would have a burnt mouth for quite a long time.”
It’s believed that dim sims were created in Melbourne’s Chinatown in 1945, by chef William Chen Wing Young for his restaurant Wing Lee.
But South Melbourne Market Dim Sims are probably Australia’s most famous, with Ken Cheng starting his stall just a few years later, in 1949.
His family stills runs the business, using a ‘secret family recipe’ to create the larger-than-standard versions that people queue for every day.
Famous for:
*Hot jam doughnuts
*South Melbourne Market Dim Sims
Hours of operation:
*8am to 4pm on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday
*8am to 5pm on Friday
Location:
*Corner of Coventry and Cecil streets
Timeline:
1855: Emerald Hill municipality established
1856: Householders petition Emerald Hill Council for a market
1858: Council selects site bordered by Coventry, Cecil and York streets and applies to government for its reservation
1866: Site reserved for market, first sheds erected at the site
1867: Market opens to the public on May 1
1868: Tenders invited to connect water and gas to sheds
1869: Council decides to lease market
1872: 5.5 tonne weighbridge added to the market
1883: Cattle and pigs sold at market
1892: South Melbourne Council charges leaseholders rent/dues
1893: Market opens Tuesday and Fridays from sunrise to 1pm, Saturday from 6pm to 11pm
1904: South Melbourne Council takes control of market dues, new shed build in York St
1912: Fire destroys stalls in D shed
1916: Work starts to improve market
1924: Electric lighting installed at the market.
1949: South Melbourne Market Dim Sims begin trading
1972: Carpark gains a roof
1981: Fire destroys original A and B sheds in Coventry St, and a bomb explodes in the market
1991: Food Hall replaces market structure
2012: New roof goes up to shelter shoppers, regulate temperature inside market, capture rainwater and generate solar electricity
Source: southmelbournemarket.com.au
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