In the same year that Paul Keating led our country, the Canberra Raiders claimed victory in the NRL Grand Final. Twenty years ago I was a seven year old girl singing along to The Lion King’s Circle of Life, and the Old Bus Depot Markets opened its doors for the first time to the nation’s capital. Where were you 20 years ago? 

What was a simple idea soon became a weekly market not knowing if Canberra would embrace it but twenty years on it’s now a Canberra icon with seven of its original stallholders there every week.

From a humble 36 stalls to a vibrant market that bustles with more than 200 stalls over 53 days of the year, Directors Morna Whiting and Diane Hinds have nurtured the Old Bus Depot Markets since the weekly event’s inception in 1994.

For the loyal stallholders it has become a way of life; for locals a Sunday tradition; and for visitors to Canberra a must see. Yet despite the years and changes, it remains a hive of creativity that continues to grow, attracting a loyal following of an average of 8,000 people each weekend.

Filled with life, creativity and spirit, the Markets haven’t always called the bus depot building home, moving from its first location in the Canberra Powerhouse Building, (now Canberra Glassworks) in 1998. Even today, reminders from an era gone by still hold its place with tea bags hanging from the ceiling thrown by the bus drivers on their smokos and who once occupied the space. It is a mark of history that adds only character to the Markets’ already charismatic charm.

A diverse range of stalls under one roof ranging from cupcakes to crocheting, cut flowers to charcuterie, an iconic stall holder amongst them all is The Cheese Man, Bryan Loader, who has ‘set up shop’ at almost 1,000 Old Bus Depot Markets.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-MdgHFs0a39A/VAiB4VQUSZI/AAAAAAAAIoU/yUpCJck9hJE/s144-c-o/Creative%252520Fibre%252520Day%2525202010%252520846.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/OldBusDepotMarkets20Years#6055232503777872274″ caption=”Byran Loader aka The Cheese Man has been at the OBDM for almost 1000 markets.” type=”image” alt=”Creative Fibre Day 2010 846.jpg” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_img_align=”center” ]

“My business is my hobby and so for me the markets is a social event and very different to your Saturday farmers’ market out at EPIC,” he says.

“Most people will come out for something to do on a Sunday or to bring their visitors.”

Be it sampling gourmet goodies, finding your personal style with a handbag or taking in the sounds of an Annie Story sculptural water fountain, there’s almost something for everyone to enjoy.

When I first asked my mother-in-law what she remembered about her first visit to the Old Bus Depot Market, I received a two word response. The smells. Of course, I felt it needed an explanation. So I prompted her for more.

“It was 2002. My grandson has just been born and I remember the clouds of enticing aromas from far away lands,” she says.

Warm wintery dishes, freshly baked breads, bite size mouthfuls of fun sweet treats and more. Whether you’re a gourmet goodie connoisseur or just a lover of food, there is always something to lure you in that sees you head home with some clever and creative delights, but just like fashion, food has seen a wave of trends too.

“When we first started off at the Market, there were lots of jam sellers,” laughs Bryan. “And I guess when you think back, 20 years ago it was in vogue.”

“I think now it’s more Middle Eastern flavours that are in trend.”

It is also this very food scene that has seen the biggest change.

While there have been trends, cheese has remained timeless with The Cheese Man offering charcuteries, cold meats, olives and cheeses, perfect for a picnic lunch by the Kingston Foreshore. Like most edible items, cheese is of course food, and so you would be forgiven for thinking it to be nothing more, but Bryan says that this very assumption saw him almost miss out on a stall twenty years ago.

“I almost wasn’t accepted because I was assumed to be a food stall. It wasn’t until the fellow who I used to buy cheese from told me that making cheese is actually a craft and so the assumption shifted and I’ve been at the markets ever since,” explains Bryan.

With both local and regional designers welcome and the skills of artisans in various guises, there are some who travel from afar just to share their wares with Canberra locals and its visitors, including Jennifer and Alec Paton, lampworkers from Blackheath in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

Twenty years ago, Jennifer and Alec Paton had plans to cruise the seas on a yacht and continue their lampworking afloat. Having held a position in the Public Service for quite some years, Alec was looking for something different. It was his mother who proposed the idea for a stall at the Old Bus Depot Market after coming across an ad in the newspaper seeking stallholders for a weekly market. Thinking it must have been a typo, Alec didn’t believe the ad was correct, questioning the market’s frequency. But now 20 years later and it is this same weekly market to which the husband and wife team make the travel south for their weekly stall, each and every Sunday.

“I approached the organisers,” says Alec. “I had my first stall at their second market, we just missed out on their first, but since those early days the Market has changed dramatically.”

[pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-Gy668FXXn00/VAiAB1dzPuI/AAAAAAAAInE/I4ZonYxMJOI/s144-c-o/1995-OBDM%2525201st%252520birthday.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/OldBusDepotMarkets20Years#6055230468019928802″ caption=”Old Bus Depot Markets celebrates its 1st Birthday in 1995″ type=”image” alt=”1995-OBDM 1st birthday.jpg” pe2_caption=”1″ pe2_img_align=”center” ]

So what is it exactly that hooks these stallholders to keep coming back week in and week out? According to Alec, the Market is bigger, has more variety and certainly holds a higher level of quality in terms of stall holders.

Says Alec, “The Old Bus Depot Market is the best in Australia and doesn’t even compare to markets both in France and Britain.”

“We’ve travelled to the Market every week, except when we took a five-year break,” he contines. “It is the best market we’ve held a stall at because it’s indoors, so well-organised and the variety is unbeatable.”

One of very few indoor markets to be found in Australia, the Old Bus Depot Markets offers both stallholders and market-goers shelter from the elements allowing the markets to be held year round without the worry about inclement weather. Iconic in every way from its story to its industrial and historic location, the venture has certainly paid off for Diane and Morna.

[pe2-image src=”http://lh5.ggpht.com/-5m-D7JUXNAI/VAiBEzltT3I/AAAAAAAAIoA/B2E1ebC4ImQ/s144-c-o/1994-OurOffice.jpg” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/108454826374315674707/OldBusDepotMarkets20Years#6055231618567458674″ caption=”Diane and Morna’s office in 1994″ type=”image” alt=”1994-OurOffice.jpg” pe2_img_align=”center” pe2_caption=”1″ ]

And with a quality standard that has never shifted, everyone who visits the Markets can see why.

So what now lies ahead? With the ever changing face of Canberra what are the growing edges for the Old Bus Depot Markets? What new directions will it take? I guess we’ll have to wait for the next 20 years to see…

The essentials

What: Old Bus Depot Markets 20th Birthday Celebration
Where: 21 Wentworth Avenue, Kingston
When: 10am-4pm, Sunday 14 September 2014
How much: Free
Web: www.obdm.com.au