Stormwater drains at Hobart’s Salamanca Market release horrible stench

Shoppers and stallholders at Hobart’s premier tourist attraction have been confronted by a horrible stench from a blocked drain in Salamanca Place.

Shoppers at Salamanca Market earlier this year. Picture: MATHEW FARRELL

SHOPPERS and stallholders at Hobart’s premier tourist attraction have been confronted by a horrible stench from a blocked drain in Salamanca Place.

Angry Salamanca Market tenants told the Mercury they arrived to set up this morning and found the odour wafting down the street.

They said the smell was an issue every Saturday and was worse early in the morning or on hot days.

A mat has been used to cover a stinky drain in Salamanca Place to try and stop market shoppers noticing the stench. Picture: SUPPLIED

Black mats are placed over stormwater drains in Salamanca during market time, but the stench has escaped from a culvert near Kelly’s Steps.

Holly Farley, whose stall is only metres away from one of the smelly drains, said the current fix was inadequate.

She said the stench was particularly bad when the temperature nearly hit 40C three Saturday’s ago.

“We actually had a little girl today coming through going ‘what’s that stink’, so it’s obviously something that people can smell and it’s not really conducive to a nice shopping experience,” Ms Farley said.

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“Pretty much every Saturday morning it’s quite a strong scent.

“I’m getting slightly impervious to it though, because between that and the sausages, I think my scent is slowly shutting down.”

Nearby stallholder Emma Hope said customers regularly commented on the smell, especially this morning.

“It’s a pretty disappointing impression to be making, especially on tourists,” Ms Hope said.

“Tasmania has a supposedly clean green image and then our number one tourist attraction Salamanca Market … smells like a toilet.

“I think they acknowledge there is a problem by the fact there’s rubber mats on there, but it doesn’t actually do anything to alleviate the problem.”

Alderman Simon Behrakis said the market was the City of Hobart’s top tourist attraction and it needed to be looked after.

He said council officers would put disinfectant through the stormwater system today to try and mask the smell before doing a full flush out of the network during the week in time for next Saturday’s market.

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