‘When the stallholders have gone home at the end of the day of trade, you can shut your eyes, you look up the aisles and it could be 1923, it could be 1953, it could be 1973…

I have memories of people who are no longer here. It’s the people that make the market. It’s the people.’

This illustrated anthology of oral histories takes readers behind the counters to reveal intimate views of the market’s unique way of life. Drawn from more than a hundred and eighty interviews, Melbourne’s Queen Victoria Market explores the values and ideas within the city’s heart.

linDa groom

former Curator, National Library of Australia Pictures Collection

“This is a truly beautiful book. It’s not only stunningly beautiful to look at; it is also a wonderful experience just to touch it.”

William Logan

Professor Emeritus, Cultural Heritage Asia Pacific, Faculty of Arts and Education, Deakin University.

“This is a work of love and intelligence, a rich portrait of the market’s diversity of personalities and cultures.”

Alan Attwood

Walkley Award-winning journalist, author and editor.

“’The Vic’ lives – and Webster’s painstaking, perceptive and reverent approach has ensured it has the tribute the place and its people deserve.”

Sir James Gobbo

AC, CVO, QC, former Supreme Court judge and 25th Governor of Victoria

“The engaging interviews are much enhanced by the quality of its many photographs, making for a book that has both historical validity and much entertainment.”

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