History of
Local Markets in NZ...
By 2005 Local Markets began popping up around the country while existing Markets started to expand operations.
The Whanganui River Market, established in 2005 and situated on the riverbanks of the Whanganui Awa (river) was appropriately named 'Whanganui River Markets',
This popular weekend attraction is located in an area of riverbank which is recorded in history as a busy riverside trading site for local Māori. Recognising this, the access to the area was named by early European settlers as Market Place.
Initially a Growers Market, the Whanganui River Market subscribed to the FMNZ, and by 2010 had expanded operations to include Arts and Craft, fundraising for local charities and schools with some bric a brac and second hand items being sold.
As Local Markets continued to evolve throughout New Zealand between 2006 - 2019, the number of Farmers and Local Markets in NZ swelled to nearly 300 Markets during Summer.
While some of these Markets had been in existence for over a decade, many smaller Local Markets lacked the support necessary for growth and unable to compete with the bigger Markets, simply closed their doors.
Local Markets NZ Support Network and Covid:
The idea of a support network was based on the success of what Farmers Markets NZ (FMNZ) had achieved by giving supportto their Market organisers and Vendors.
The effects of the Covid pandemic in 2020 put a strain on Local Market Communities and realising a support network was necessary to sustain our modern day Market culture, plans were set in motion to create a platform that would benefit everyone.
