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A street market focused on affordable produce and other items has been operating every Saturday morning in Silverdale for around 30 years.
Stalls are laid out on the lower part of Silverdale Street, either side of Agency Lane, selling eggs, vegetables, Japanese food, toys, jewellery, handbags, bric-a-brac and flowers.
It once formed a vibrant and bustling hub once a week, but times are tough, and currently there are around eight permanent stallholders with others coming and going.
Margaret Lewis has had a stall at the Saturday Street Market for six years, selling potted flowering plants and vegetable seedlings grown by husband Jim on their Red Beach property.
She bought the licence to run the market around two years ago and says her mission to grow the number of stallholders and customers has been frustrated by competition from online sales, malls and activities that keep families busy on Saturdays.
“Although the area around Silverdale Village is growing, the market isn’t,” she says. “We keep it going, despite the challenges, because for many of the stallholders who have been coming a long time, the market is what keeps them going. People remember that years ago it would be packed, but things have changed, especially since Covid. So yes, we’re struggling but we’re not giving up, as we have lots to offer.”
The market is on Saturdays, 8am-1pm.
Hall market focused on crafts
Every Saturday, around 40 market stalls fill Silverdale Hall, which is on the lower part of Silverdale Street near the intersection with Hibiscus Coast Highway.
This market has been going since around 1980 at the same venue. It is run by the Silverdale Hall Committee, all volunteers, including manager Elizabeth Johnstone.
The hall market is independent of the street market but the two work together, says committee member Heather Roycroft.
Half the stall fees for the hall market go to charity, while the other half covers interior maintenance.
Stallholders are all craftspeople or collectors, selling arts, crafts and antiques.
One of them, committee member and jeweller Philip Thornton, has had a stall at the market since 2003.
He also sells his work online and in galleries but says the market provides immediate connection with customers and brings in commissions.
“People can look at the jewellery and discuss designs,” he says. “It’s a shop front, but I don’t have to be there five days a week.”
Heather has also noticed changes over time, especially since Covid, affecting the numbers that visit the market.
Currently the hall has an Easter prize draw for all customers. The draw is on Easter Saturday.
The hall market is open the same hours as the street market, 8am-1pm Saturdays.
