A long-time Eumundi resident has declared: “We want our town back” and blamed the “unbridled growth” of its famous markets for “choking” the town.
Eumundi is known for its artisan markets that began in 1979 and operate two days per week with 600 stalls and more than 1.6 million annual visitors.
But resident Susan Russell said she was speaking for many locals who felt the markets were taking away the simple pleasures of living in a small country town.
Mrs Russell, who has lived on acreage just outside Eumundi for three decades, said a growing number of townsfolk were “feeling choked” by the markets held every Saturday and Wednesday in the town centre.
Over the past 10 years, the situation had become intolerable, she said, and residents were “desperate” to see the award-winning markets moved elsewhere.
She draws parallels with the former Maleny Folk Festival which was moved to a larger site in Woodford when its popularity outgrew the Maleny Showgrounds.
But her views are countered by a market manager who said the tourist attraction put Eumundi “on the map” and fostered artists and growers, many of whom lived locally and were part of the community.
The area councillor David Law also pointed out that market-day visitors’ contribution to the local economy was invaluable and there was a 77 per cent increase on average in expenditure in Eumundi on market days.
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Mrs Russell said locals were forced to avoid the Memorial Drive main street because of the lack of parking available and the sheer congestion of visitors and vehicles two days a week.
She said the markets had “grown like a growth which has killed off any permanent businesses’ ability to survive”.
That in turn had led to cutbacks in shops’ opening hours, denying local residents access to the usual good and services conveniently offered in other towns.
Having spoken to business owners and other residents, Mrs Russell said she was not a lone voice.
“We cannot choose to go to our town when we want,” she said.
“If you can’t go for lunch on a Saturday in your local town (because it’s so busy), you choose somewhere else to go.
“Thirty years ago … locals could visit, have breakfast, walk around, get a park and leave, and really use our town.
“(The markets) are too big. It’s like a growth that’s choked the town.
“On the weekends and busy times, it takes locals 20 minutes if we’re driving to Brisbane just to get out of Eumundi on to the bypass.”
The Original Eumundi Markets market operations manager Lauren Becks said it was unfortunate that even one Eumundi resident saw the markets in a negative light but she believed that view was not shared by the majority of the town.
The markets is actually five separate local entities working in conjunction with multiple community organisations.
“Visitation leads to money being spent,” she said.
“Whether it is filling up the car at the local service station, grabbing a coffee from one of Eumundi’s cafés, or recreational shopping at the markets, the people who visit our town do contribute greatly to its economy.
“To say that Eumundi Markets are in some way a detriment to the town or the community is felt so personally because we are part of the community.
“For many of us, this is our home, place of work, where we send our kids to school, and where we invest our creative energy.
“The Original Eumundi Market is a not-for-profit (NFP) community organisation operating with the purpose of supporting local artisan, craftpersons, farms and self-made small business owners.
“Many of the staff and stallholders of the Eumundi Markets are in fact local Eumundi residents.
“We regularly work in tandem with numerous other NFP and community groups within Eumundi, including Eumundi District and Historical Association, Experience Eumundi, Eumundi Chamber of Commerce, Eumundi Rotary and the Eumundi CWA.”
Those collaborative relationships had contributed to the markets’ success story and put Eumundi “on the map”.
“The Original Eumundi Markets has put a considerable amount of time, effort and money into promoting the Eumundi Markets and its stallholders, all of which are small local businesses,” Ms Becks said.
“These efforts have developed the Eumundi town’s appeal as a genuine tourism and destination contender on the Sunshine Coast.
“We have had an indelible footprint in Eumundi for over 43 years.
“Eumundi Markets and the talented stallholders who trade at them are absolutely a credit to our community – a community that prides itself on creativity, originality and has become an inspirational hub for the arts.
“Lose the markets and you lose so many of the town creatives that are associated with it.”
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Ms Becks rejected any claim that the markets had killed off businesses, saying many had stood the test of time.
But she acknowledged COVID’s effects over the past two years had had a detrimental impact on many small businesses – including stallholders.
“It has been sad to see small business struggling and heartbreaking to see families make the hard decision to close,” she said.
“COVID particularly was hard on Eumundi as the Eumundi Markets were not able to operate for a few months. For the period of market closure during COVID, the town and remaining businesses did suffer as they rely on our advertising and visitation overflow.”
Sunshine Coast Division 10 Councillor David Law said the council encouraged residents to raise their concerns with market operators and continue to liaise with them.
Spendmapp data (by Geografia), which tracked expenditure within localities across the region, indicated a 77 per cent increase on average in expenditure in Eumundi on market days compared with non-market days, he said.
“The majority of this expenditure is in dining and entertainment and in addition to supporting those businesses, it is an important contribution to the local economy,” he added.
Council holds two leases with the Eumundi Combined Community Organisation Limited.
The ‘Markets and other reasonable uses subject to Council’s approval’ final consecutive lease expires in January 2031 and the ‘Car park and community use’ consecutive lease expires December 2028.
Cr Law said any business facing challenges was encouraged to contact the council to be connected to a relevant officer.
The council’s Economic Development Branch worked with the local business community in Eumundi and across the region to provide support and connect owners to information, resources and opportunities.
