THOUSANDS of visitors are expected to flow through the gates of the 43rd Oxley Bush Market, an event held on the first Saturday of November which has become a "must" for anyone visiting the region on the Melbourne Cup and Jazz Festival weekend.
So popular has the market become, its 150 sites are quickly reserved by vendors wanting to secure their place, some of whom have been attending since it first began.
The outdoor event is set in the grounds of the historic Oxley Shire Hall, built in 1875 and still afforded shade on the west side by elm trees planted just a year later.
The characterful building was used as council chambers for the Oxley Shire up until 1966, and it is believed to be the oldest, continually used community building in North East Victoria.
Inside, the hall has five-metre-high ceilings, bright, spacious rooms lined with historic photographs, and polished floorboards, and it has hosted events including balls, art exhibitions and even a touring opera company.
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The external brickwork is original - the façade classified by the National Trust - and the building has featured in tourism brochures, artworks and as the backdrop for many a wedding photo, so it's hard to imagine it once fell into such a state of disrepair it was potentially facing demolition.
When teachers Don and Janet Heath arrived in Oxley in 1976 with their young family, the hall hadn't been used in a decade and didn't look at all like it does now.
Janet said there was an old kitchen at the front, a lean-to on the side, elm trees were growing through the floorboards and sparrows were nesting in the ceiling.
"It was unbelievable - the walls were caving in and the beautiful Murray pine floors couldn't be saved because they were too far gone," she said.
"There was no power - at the first bush markets (which began in 1980) we had to keep the jam and cream for the scones cool in eskies."
Janet was among a group of local parents who wanted somewhere to hold their playgroup and when they looked inside the hall they were shocked by its condition.
They notified the Shire of Oxley who agreed with their assessment - deciding to close it off from public access immediately.
"We thought, if we want it, we've got to do something," explained Janet.
In 1978, a committed group of locals decided to re-form the Oxley Hall Committee with the aim of restoring their local hall.
The first elected officials included Bill Allan (president), Jan Ciavarella (vice-president), Ruth Jordan (secretary) and Lorraine Green (treasurer) with the committee including Mark Phillips, Ella Burdon, Brendon Griffin, Graham Vincent and Janet Heath.
The restoration project was to take over 30 years and is estimated to have cost over $300,000.
The main hall area was restored and renovated in 1997, the supper room and kitchen were re-built in 2002, and the meeting room was extended, with internal toilets built, in 2005.
While the restoration was made possible with grants from state and federal governments and support from the Rural City of Wangaratta, it was the community who initiated and drove the project, also raising money through an innovative new fundraising event they called the Oxley Bush Market.
Don said the Oxley Bush Market was Janet's idea, and it stemmed from her realisation it was going to take a lot more than the odd lamington drive to bring the hall back to life.
It was the late seventies, and fellow committee members remember gathering in the couple's loungeroom to discuss the idea, pledging their support.
"So many people up the valley at that time were starting to do arty stuff - pottery, painting and making things - and I thought, wouldn't it be lovely to have something like that at the hall?" Janet said.
On his travels, Don began calling into the many small and developing family businesses in and around the King Valley region, asking them if they'd be interested in taking part.
Many of those businesses expressed their support, and around 20 to 30 of them set up stalls at what was the very first Oxley Bush Market in 1980.
It proved successful, so the next year they thought they'd do it again, and the market began to progressively grow, until over decades, the site reached capacity.
This year they received over 200 applications to take part, from which 150 were successful in securing a place.
Janet remembers her children were one, three and five-years-old when the market first began, and now - 44 years later - the couple's children, their partners and grandchildren all come to lend a hand.
"It's been a really major part of all our lives," she said.
"Our family has always helped - and my grandchildren have even told me the Oxley Bush Market is 'better than Christmas.'"
The early markets had only basic facilities including pan toilets, up until the early 1990s when the market committee managed to secure a toilet block from a local school which was closing.
It meant the hall could also be used for private events and functions like weddings.
Janet says a working bee is held the day before the market, then a volunteer team of up to 45 people begin to arrive from 5.30am on the day itself to help set up and manage the arriving vendors.
She said it has become a well-oiled machine, as uniformed volunteers stream in and set about their allocated tasks, earning praise from stallholders who comment on how well-organised it is.
More volunteers provide marketing, administration and trade skills in the lead up to the event.
The stallholders remain on site until 2.30pm when the market's raffle is drawn; those who have purchased tickets in the running to win up to 40 prizes like wine, food and accommodation vouchers which are generously donated by local businesses.
Janet said at the end of the market, the volunteers and their families enjoy a "happy hour" celebration together, congratulating each other, reflecting and sharing their ideas on ways to improve.
"We're great believers in rewarding the volunteers - we're really grateful they keep coming - and it couldn't happen without them," she said.
Janet and Don estimate a few thousand people attend the Oxley Bush Market each year, pouring through the gates to browse the stalls between 9am and 2.30pm.
They describe it as a very social market, where stallholders and visitors alike enjoy meeting up with people they haven't seen for years.
Entry is free, but the market still raises around $16,000 for the community, with around $10,000 raised by the hall committee, which although initially put straight towards renovations, is now used for the upkeep of the hall and to support community events and projects.
It has funded initiatives including building a new room at the Oxley Primary School, creating the Oxley Memorial Park and Playground, and installing a memorial plaque beside the Lone Pine in the park.
Organisations like the Oxley CFA and Oxley Primary School also reap independent benefits from their fundraising activities held at the market, with the CFA running a dog creche and the school providing catering services.
The 40th anniversary Oxley Bush Market was named the Australia Day Rural City of Wangaratta Event of the Year, and Janet said she is proud it has stood in its own light.
While there was a quiet spell during COVID, which saw the market put on hold for two years, the hall continues to be regularly hired by people for private events including birthdays and weddings.
Despite having committed decades and worked tirelessly to build the Oxley Bush Market, Janet and Don say it still gives them great pleasure and satisfaction to see people enjoying it.
Janet credits members of the Oxley Shire Hall committee, the Oxley Residents Association and the wider Oxley community for the market's success.
On a personal note, she says she has learned a lot from running the market and derives great satisfaction from it.
"It's the best - to see all the people and how happy they are," said Janet.
"It’s a great feeling - to be able to pull together such an event - and to see all the helpers who have worked so hard enjoying it so much."
Don said he loves seeing the way the hall is now used regularly by the community, remembering when hundreds of supporters gathered there in 2013 for a party to celebrate Cathy McGowan's election as the first independent member for Indi.
The success of the Oxley Bush Market and the restoration of the historic Oxley Shire Hall have had a profound impact on the Oxley community, as well as on Janet and Don and their extended family.
"One of the things we're most proud of is the longevity of it - it has stood the test of time," said Janet.
"It has evolved, but it hasn't really changed - whatever we were doing from the start (at a time when very few other markets existed) it must have worked.
"And we're proud that the market has never had sponsorship from anyone - we've never had any assistance - we are completely self-sufficient."
The 43rd Oxley Bush Market will be held at the historic Oxley Shire Hall on Saturday, November 2 from 9am to 2.30pm and entry is free.
