Travel Diary

Driving to Fryerstown Victoria

©Kara Rosenlund

Well, it’s no secret I’m a lover of ‘things of old’ and ‘not things of new.’ So it was with a lot of excitement – insert squealing – that I set off on a quick little buying trip to the old gold rush town of Fryerstown, Victoria, for the yearly antique market.

I wanted to go for a few different reasons; one, for a bit of a shop (who doesn’t love a spin around the trestle tables at a country market)… and two, to do a little research for my up and coming Australian made product range! I know – exciting right!.. more on that later!

… I love country Victoria, there is something about the openness. You can fly in, hire a car and be in the country in less than an hour…. and for me it’s this sort of landscape which stops me in my tracks…. you can drive and see nothing, yet see and feel everything at the same time…

… to be honest, I felt unexpectedly sentimental while visiting this time. I visit this pocket of Australia regularly, though it’s the seasons which stir my emotions and take me back to certain points in life.

The heat, the dry winds, the glaring bright light – In the height of summer two years ago, in January, I had just started shooting the material for Shelter in country Victoria…. and when you are ‘throwing a few pebbles into the pond’ so to speak, and don’t entirely have a structured plan on ‘how to meet strangers and photograph their homes’ (and do a book on it), you don’t forget the emotional side too easy….* emotional side meaning the sheer fear and real panic of hunting down material. Ohmygosh. So, it was nice to reflect and drive around and be reminded of the journey.

… I quickly parked my soft sentimental side, toughened up and got amongst it on the tables, haggling… I always come to this market the day before it opens to the public, commonly known as ‘the buyers day’, with not much footfall you can buy before the crowds and the public. Insider tip!

Though if you are serious you should come to each of the days it’s on – the three days, as lots of stock changes hands between the stall holders and sometimes ‘new stock’ magically appears from under the tables and boots of cars… antique dealers – dodgy folk they are :)

… just like the buyers who come from all over, the sellers do too.. they travel the country following interstate market dates, buying and selling as they travel.

There is always a couple of favourites I beeline for when I arrive, one of them is Hugh Webb, who used to have a shop in Castlemaine and sells the best selection of kitchenalia and the other is Jane from Vintage Etc….

.. I should of bought that top bag… ah, regrets….

… buying aside, it’s the whole country market atmosphere which brings me back each year.

Old ‘Bushies’ smoking rollies and selling dug up antique glazed ginger beer bottles, still covered in earth; bearded blokes with cockney accents who almost make you think you are in East London, not standing in the heat of the Australian bush and the familiar smells of the sausage sizzle from the volunteer Victorian Fire Brigade… just a simple day out.

… some of my finds from the days.. including the kitchen sink!…. I know…. insert kitchen sink joke here….. Leather, wood, enamel, wire, cane and glass…. timeless additions for the the home… my favourite find was the initialled D.R. enamel plate, my Dads initials.