Paddy’s Markets in Haymarket is a venerable Sydney institution that has lost its way, so news that the venues’ owners are proceeding with a comprehensive revamp of the site is welcome and overdue.
It has pitted the site’s owners against many of the existing market stallholders, who fear being shouldered aside into less accessible, less profitable corners of the building.A bitter legal dispute between the two parties has now been resolved, with the NSW Supreme Court ruling that the development process can go ahead.
Historical accounts describe a fairground atmosphere in the mostly open-air market complex that hosted a circus and sideshows as well as the ubiquitous fruit and vegetable stalls. It stayed open until 10pm on Saturdays in an era when most Sydney establishments closed with the setting of the sun.The markets moved between buildings in the same district several times, before the biggest shift took place in 1975 when most of the fruit and vegetable sellers went west to the new markets at Flemington.