In search of more inspiration for the outdoor kitchen,
I stopped off at the Mernda Saleyards the other day.
These ceased trading as a 'proper' sale yard in 2005.
From that time till June 2009 it was still operating
as a small animal market each Monday.
Following complaints about animal cruelty
New laws that required more paper work to prevent
and/or track livestock and disease made the market unviable.
The market attracted buyers from a wide range
of cultural backgrounds.
of cultural backgrounds.
Many of the animals were bought for home butchering
and transported in the boots and back seats of cars.
It saleyards been trading for over 120 years.
You can tell I am coveting some of that timber, can't you?
Isn't the Internet wonderful?
I just found the minutes from a Council Meeting last year
that say the market has a heritage overlay.
Parts of it will be preserved, with some of the later
parts demolished and used as a local market/farmer's market.
I did have my eye on those little doors, but I will
be a good girl and leave them where they are
for future generations to enjoy.
:-)
Some people won't be happy until everyone eats nothing but tofu hotdogs. Rather than close the market, where trade could be monitored, they've driven it underground. We have a small poultry auction twice monthly in our area. There are some people, mostly recent immigrants, who go there to buy live birds to eat. There are also a lot of backyard poultry people who use it to buy and sell extra birds. There is always a government health inspector there to monitor for disease, and they keep track of names and addresses. It doesn't seem that difficult. I'd prefer a sale where all the buyers were looking for pets, of course, but there aren't that many of us.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on those doors!!
ReplyDeleteHazel, those doors, those doors, those doors......unfortunately I would have ripped em off and tucked em under my arm...cos you can bet they wont be the bits they keep! You have better 'crusty, rusty old and musty' control than me......
ReplyDeleteHi, loving those doors too. Your posts are always so interesting!
ReplyDeleteI also love those doors.
ReplyDeleteYou put those gates back on the hinges Hazel! Seriously though, don't you just love that weathered look. Something that just can't be faked. I'm sure your outdoor kitchen will be a ripper and your materials will just jump out at you somewhere... maybe just not these yards. cheers Wendy
ReplyDeleteyes those wooden doors are definitely covetable. For the first time in a while I went through Mernda recently and was amazed that the region the was rural is now so built up. And without decent public transport I think.
ReplyDeleteFunny how some of us see the old weathered wood and have a near visceral reaction to it. I love it. The DW on the other hand... it's old -throw it out.
ReplyDeleteProperly-aged timber lasts for ages, doesn't it, so why do all the pieces of garden furniture on the market today only last for 4 or 5? Manufacturers have a vested interest in making things artificially obsolete.
ReplyDeleteThat place looks as if it will be a great venue for a Farmers Market.
Wow! How lovely to read a post about Mernda! My mum was named after the town because my grandfather was a builder who worked on a number of public buildings there after WW1. My mum had a hard time as a student at covents as she claimed the nuns gave her a hard time because her name wasn't a saint's name. A few years ago I had a student whose middle name was Mernda. her mother told me she was named in honour of a much loved great aunt...so mum wasn't the only one with the name. I visited Mernda in 1971 and took photos but I guess it's changed since then!
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