Writer and Photographer Tim Webster told us about  his book, “Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market”, an unprecedented work of oral history, eight years in the making. 

His illustrated anthology of the oral histories of the Queen Victoria Market took us behind the counters to reveal intimate views of the market’s unique way of life. Drawn from more than a hundred and eighty interviews, and featuring beautiful and atmospheric photography throughout, “Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market” explores the values and ideas within the city’s heart.
 

 
 
 
When the stallholders have gone home at the end of the day of trade, you can shut your eyes, you look up the aisles and it could be 1923, it could be 1953, it could be 1973…I have memories of people who are no longer here. It’s the people that make the market. It’s the people.‘

Melbourne’s Vic Market is an Australian heritage gem, a place for everyone. For over a century and a half, generations of small traders have embraced the opportunities to make a living at this iconic market, cultivating healthy competition and innovation in an evolving cultural melange.
 

 
 
 
Tim told us how he researched the history of the market, from the time Hoddle set up the grid for Melbourne, and how it grew to be a hub of fresh fruit and vegetables , and assorted general merchandise. He related how the families identified with the market and how it became an essential part of Melbourne life.  

Thanks Tim for a truly insightful peek into Melbourne’s past.