Friday, June 26, 2009

markets in melbourne



most visitors or tourists to melbourne would have heard about or made a visit to queen victoria market. the locals refer to it as 'vic mart'. when i first heard it sounded like 'big mart' to me. unlike markets in singapore, the markets here are not open every day. victoria market is open 5 days a week; it is closed on monday and wednesday. most of the markets in the suburbs are open on selected days, generally about 2 or 3 days a week. the ones i normally go to are the carribean market and the dandenong market.

there are also some theme or specialised markets like the st kilda arts and craft market, the book market at federation square and some markets that sell farm produce only, like the mulgrave farmers' market held on sundays.



the carribean market is located in an area which, i think, is about half the size of bukit panjang housing estate. it has a huge lake called the carribean lake and in the gardens there are facilities for children to play like chair lift, train ride and a jungle cruise. the wide and expansive parkland is also a popular venue for barbeques and picnics.


the carribean market, which has more than 1000 stalls, operates on wednesday, friday and sunday. on sunday, you have to pay an admission charge, normally $2.50. dandenong market, on the other hand, operates on tuesday, friday and saturday. because some of the stallholders move from market to market, you may find fewer stalls at either market on a friday.


at both markets, you find undercover and outside stalls. i suppose the undercover stalls pay a higher rental fees than those outside, in the open. apart from a wide range of local produce, you can get a wide variety of general goods at these markets. these may include stuff like antiques, bric-a-brac, clothes, plants, books, arts and craft material, computer paraphernalia and household tools.


generally, things are cheaper at these markets than at the supermarkets and department stores. my daughter tells me that the best bargains can be had at around 2.00 p.m. when the stall-holders are about to call it a day.

24 comments:

Victor said...

Pay admission charge to enter a market? I think that's ridiculous.

Uncle Phil said...

Hi YG,
Just to say hello and to let you know I came across your blog yesterday. I have just started blogging since Febuary this year and a newbie in this 'game'. I have very limited PC skills and hope to learn more through blogging before I am left out in the cold. Haha. I have been working and living away from Singapore more than 36 years and didn't make the effort to known more SG until now. Through blogging I have added many more Sg friends than I have made in the past 36 yrs. Hehe. May I add you in my list of "newfound Sg friends"
Cheers

yg said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
yg said...

hi phil, sure, i will be glad to be your newfound sg friend. browsing through your blog, i have found out that you are an old boy of victoria school. by some sheer coincidence, victor - who made the first comment on this post - is also an old vs boy. you can visit his blog at this website and make another newfound sg friend, that is, if you have not already done so.

yg said...

victor, maybe it is one way of managing the congestion on a sunday. anyway, parking is free.
by the way, i have recommended your blog to 'uncle phil' who lives in sydney, australia. he is from your alma mater.

Victor said...

Phil, looks like YG and you have a lot in common - both of you shuttle often between Singapore and Australia and both should be around the same age group.

I visited your blog but could not find "evidence" that you are an old VS boy. But I give you the benefit of the doubt. :p

Glad to have met you on YG's blog and hope I can be your new-found friend.

nah said...

The Queen Victoria Market is massive; more like an open air market reminiscent of Chatuchak Market in Bangkok.There is a wide variety of merchandise, clothes, pets, fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh meat and seafood, flowers, souvenirs, all sorts of odds and ends. This was where I bought custard apples at A$20 a box of 10-12 (8 kilos).

Uncle Phil said...

Hi YG,
Thanks for to include me as a kawan. I think we are the same age. I'll be 61 in Oct. I'm still working fulltime with the Dept of Ageing and Disabilities, NSW. Went back to school last as a fulltime student and graduated last year just to embarass my teen son. Haha. Do come to visit us in Sydney while you are in OZ. You know that you are always welcome to stay with us.

Cheers.

Hi Victor,
V.I.C.T.O.R.I.A. That was our battlecry whenever there was a ruby match with RI, St Andrew Or SJI. Do I have to proof myself further. Victoria school in Singapore, there are other school we know.. ok I just remembered the password. Nil Sine Labour.

The friendship is sealed with the password. Haha.

Anonymous said...

Hi Victor & Phil uncle:

Remember Chong Pak choy your Great man he is your Principal.

What about BEATTY SCHOOL: we are at war most when we met... HAHAHEE HEE

Uncle Phil said...

Hi YG,
We are the same rank. You can call me Phil.The honourary uncle was given by the young Sg migrants who started the blog for me.
Wow you have a great memory. Is your whole family in Melb?

yg said...

hi phil, i have two daughters and they are both based in melbourne - one is still studying at monash university and the other is working. my wife, who came over to australia together with me, has returned to s'pore cos she is still working. i am going back on tue, 30 june.
i don't have a great memory, just good memory of selected events and places.

yg said...

hi anonymous, i was not from beatty but i have a few friends who studied in beatty. i can recall at least 2 past principals, one was lim bok hai and the other was a singh. today, beatty school is located at toa payoh north.

Victor said...

Anonymous of 27/6 10:04, I don't know who is Chong Pak Choy. When I went to VS in 1969, Mr Ong Kim Siong was Acting Principal but I have no impression of him. Mr T P Naidu took over as Principal from 1971-1975.

You can view a list of VS Principals in this article.

Uncle Phil said...

Hi Victor,
Mr Chong was a Victorian principal in the 1960s and followed by Mr Low Kee Pow. Take a look at the VS Principal List again when you are there.

Cheers.

Hi Anonymous, Are you an old VS boy? If so, you may be around the same time as me. I really want to see that we have a 50th for the class of '65 even I am now living in Sydney.

Betty said...

Hello fellow Victorians. Here is an old Victorian girl.(1965-1966). My principals were Mr Low Kee Pow and an Indian one who always talked about being frugal at morning assemblies. However I enjoyed my 2 years in Victoria. A couple of years back we tracked down our form teacher, Miss Weech from England and sponsored her holiday to Singapore. We brought her to VS and VJC too.
I must say that Uncle Phil seems to be a good cook.

Uncle Phil said...

Hi Betty,
Wow! you must be one of the pioneers. It was an all boys school until the '60s. I remembered there were few English teachers from the British Volunteers at that time. Very nice of you and your mates to bring your former teacher back for a visit. Yes my blog has become a makan blog..:D. Please visit and comment. Cheers. Phil

Betty said...

Hi Phil, (will drop 'uncle' since you are my junior)
Yes, it was lovely to have Miss Weech back in Singapore, her first visit after she left in 1966. She had the opportunity to speak to some boys in VS and we made arrangements for her to visit former staff of VS, like Mr Sethi.
Will certainly try out some of your recipes. Thanks for sharing.

Uncle Phil said...

Hi Betty,
You still have to call me koko.:) I was there before VS became co-ed for the Pre U. I met my Primary One teacher Miss Penny Tan when I went back last year. She was playing mahjong with her relatives when I visited her.
Most of the recipes measurement are "agak agak" as they are legacies from my late Mum and MIL. Need adjustment and share your result with others. Cheers

Icemoon said...

Eh, didn't know VS was a mixed school at one time.

Was it because of Pre-U? Betty mentioned she was there for 2 years. Pre-U would be the fore-runner of JC in the 1970s. I vaguely remember Peter mentioning Raffles had girls at one time.

Betty said...

Hi Icemoon,
VS wasn't and has never been a mixed school. It had girls only in the pre-u classes.Yes pre-u classes were the fore-runners of JCs. Very few boys' schools had girls in their pre-u classes.They were RI, VS, Beatty, Bartley, ACS, etc. Girls doing pre-u were a minority. The girls' schools having pre-u classes were RGS, CHIJ...
Yes, I agree with Uncle Phil that chinese cooking is "agak agak". The old folks didn't have weighing scales so it was 10 cts worth of this and that or a thumb-size of this and that. Cheers to all

yg said...

hi betty, when i was in secondary school, we also had welcomed distractions. we used to watch the blossoming pre-university girls as they played netball at an open area within the school. netball was never our interest.

Unknown said...

Hi fellow Victorians

I am an old VS boy from the mid
60s. Among my classmates was Alwi whom I understand had migrated to Australia in the 1970s. The former pincipal's full name was Mr Cheong Hock Hai, he was preceded by Mr P Abisheganaden and succeeded by Mr Low Kee Pow. From what I have learnt, VS had pre u girls from the early 1950s and it was only until 1961 that the intake was discontinued. Girl students were re-introduced in 1965. Oh, it's great to know that the 1965 Pre U batch had got in touch with their British teacher Ms Weech and invited her back to Spore. In my year we also had an English lady teacher by the name of Ms Gelder who was instrumental in reviving plays in VS and was behind the highly successful Androcles and The Lion. We would take a leaf from the 1965 cohort and try to establish contact with Ms Gelder. Nil Sine Labore!

yg said...

hi huang, 3 old victorians whom i know are bloggers are taking up the challenge ; a singaporean uncle in australia and times of my life

PetitionForVS said...

http://vs.jonaize.com/index.php

Petition for VS