Shops and Retail, Published 26 April 2026
What does the Big Bang of artisanal markets look like?
It didn’t begin with a flashy grand opening - it began in 1979 inside the humble Eumundi CWA Hall on Memorial Drive in Eumundi, QLD. Two local visionaries, Christa Barton and Gail Perry-Somers, joined the CWA with a mission: to breathe life back into their town after the decline of the local dairy and timber industries. Their plan? A community market centered on the philosophy of "Make it, Bake it, Grow it, Sew it."
The very first market kicked off on Saturday, March 24, 1979, and to say it was "intimate" is an understatement. There were exactly three stalls and a grand total of eight visitors (and that’s including the family members who were dragged along to help!). The air in the hall was thick with the scent of freshly baked quiches and cakes coming straight from the CWA kitchen as the founders worked to drum up interest.
Now, for the legendary part: the takings. After a full morning of hard work, the total profit for that first day was exactly $36. It’s a figure that has become a piece of Sunshine Coast folklore! While $36 wouldn't buy you much more than a couple of hand-poured candles today, in 1979, it was the proof of concept that Eumundi needed. It showed that people were hungry for local quality and a reason to gather under those iconic Moreton Bay Fig trees.
Fast forward to today, and that $36 investment has grown into a world-famous artisan phenomenon. The markets eventually spilled out of the CWA Hall to take over the entire town center, but the hall still stands as the spiritual home of the movement. It’s a powerful reminder that every global success story usually starts with a small group of passionate people, a local hall, and a few dozen dollars in the till. Next time you’re wandering the stalls, spare a thought for the quiches that started it all!
More info: https://eumundimarkets.com.au
Copyright and reuse
We encourage the sharing of history and information, and we support the responsible reuse of our original content.
Written articles. Unless a page says otherwise, our original written content is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). You may copy, share, adapt and reuse it, including commercially, as long as you:
- credit “The Dave & Malou Channel” as the source and, where practical, link to the original page;
- link to the licence; and
- indicate any changes you made, without suggesting that we endorse you or your use.
Photographs and other images. Unless a credit or caption says otherwise, photographs and other images on this website, including illustrations, are available under CC BY 4.0 on the same conditions as our written articles. This covers images we created and images supplied by individuals, archives, libraries and families who have given permission for this use. Please check the credit and caption before you reuse an image, because some are not covered:
- Images marked “© The Dave & Malou Channel” must not be reproduced, reused or distributed without our prior written permission.
- For images credited to another person or organisation that are marked © or otherwise reserve their rights, please contact us before reuse so we can help clarify the copyright status and any permission you need. We cannot give permission on behalf of another copyright owner.
- Images labelled “Public Domain” may be used without permission, subject to any legal restrictions and the accuracy of that label.
Video, audio and third-party material. Video and audio are not covered by the licence unless a page says so. Copyright in material supplied by others, such as quotations, extracts and recordings, stays with its owner and is not covered unless we say so. Please contact us before reusing it.
Our name and logo. The name “The Dave & Malou Channel”, our logo and the look of the website are not covered by the licence. Please do not use them in a way that suggests we are connected with, or endorse, you.
Fair dealing. Nothing in our Website Terms limits your right to use material for private study, research, criticism, review, news reporting, or parody and satire, as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth).
