Paddy's Market sells products as varied from fruit, vegetables and flowers to clothing, CDs,
DVDs, home and housewares, sunglasses, jewellery and souvenirs. It is Australia's original market
and a popular supplier of discount goods to locals and visitors.
The original market has operated at Haymarket near Chinatown for over 150 years and a second
complex is now open at Flemington.
Entry to all Retail Markets is Free.
Haymarket Thursday 9:00am - 5:00pm
Friday 9:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm
Sunday 9:00am - 5:00pm
Public Holiday
Mondays 9:00am - 5:00pm
Its origins date back to 1834 when Governor Bourke decided to move hay and grain traders to a
site next to the new cattle market in Campbell Street, Sydney. The move created a split among
stallholders within the "fringe" market. Some had regular customers among the cattlemen and hay
and grain growers, and they moved to join farmers in the new Haymarket area.
The food sellers and second hand dealers also did a good trade, both in the vicinity of the
market house and around the Haymarket pubs. The majority, however, stayed on at the George
Street market.
Governor Bourke's decision to allow the market to stay open until 10.00pm on Saturdays marked the
beginnings of what we know today as Sydney's Paddy's Markets.
By 1842, when the markets came under the jurisdiction of Sydney Council, the Saturday Paddy's
style market was well established. The Council gave it another boost by allowing the George
Street market to remain open until 10.00 pm on Wednesday nights.
The flat ground opposite was also a favourite site with circus managers and the Council leased
out a section to Wilson's Circus in holiday periods and during spring and autumn livestock sales.
By the 1860s the number of stalls had grown and attractions on a Saturday included trick riding,
tests of strength and other fairground favourites.
By this stage, the name "Haymarket" was a misnomer, as the bulk of grain and hay was
now transported to the city by train and disposed of at the Redfern and Darling Harbour
rail yards. The haymarket, or Campbell Streetmarket, as it was known, had become a
second farm produce outlet. The stalls and side shows that sprouted up there on a
Saturday, both inside the newly built market sheds and on the vacant block opposite,
were being fondly referred to as Paddy's Market.
The George Street market was demolished in 1891 and
Paddy's in the Haymarket had Saturday night to itself. But it too was about to change. Not
long after the demise of the central market, the circus owners at the Campbell Street site
were asked to find another venue. The vacant block was to be used for a new Belmore fruit
market, and stall holders were asked to either apply for inside space or quit trading.
That spelt the end of the fairground atmosphere that had so captivated the patrons of Paddy's
since the gold rush period. But the Saturday night market continued, and on cold wet nights,
both stallholders and customers appreciated the new and elegant accommodation.
Security of tenure ran out in the late sixties when it was decided to relocate the markets
to Flemington. In the parliamentary debate on the bill, the Labor opposition insisted that
the future of Paddy's, "which has become a feature of Sydney life", should be guaranteed.
A weekend Paddy's Market was included in the new Flemington complex when it was opened in
1975, and although Paddy's stallholders were asked to vacate the No. 6 building in the
Haymarket to make way for the $41 million Entertainment Centre, they were rehoused in the
Nos. 1 and 2 markets across the way. The result was positive because Paddy's Market doubled
its capacity and it seemed that the future of the institution itself was assured. And
so it remains.
Paddy;s Market website
Sydney Markets is easily accessible by road and there is free parking for over 2000 cars on
site. Just follow the signs to Sydney Markets from Parramatta Road, the M4 motorway or
Centenary Drive. Alternatively, catch a train to Flemington City Rail Station adjacent to
the Sydney Markets site.
The Sydney Swap & Sell Market is located under Carpark V at Sydney Markets, off
Parramatta Road, Flemington.
GETTING THERE
Flemington
Haymarket