HOT NEWS The Melbourne Wholesale Fish market, has re-opened at 133 Kensington Road, West Melbourne, adjacent to the Tasmanian Pacific Oyster Company. The wholesale fish market is now known as the Melbourne Seafood Centre located in a $25 million purpose built building. For more info contact the Melbourne Seafood Centre: T: 61 3 9687 2962 E: admin@melbourneseafoodcentre.com.au For Great Seafood, you can also try the Fishmongers at South Melbourne Market, Preston Market or the Queen Victoria Market. For a history of the Market, see below. For many years, the Melbourne Wholesale Fish Market was the focal point for the fishing industry in South East Australia. Fresh fish arrived daily direct from fishing ports and inland waterways. It was the only centre that supplied the full range of available fresh fish in Victoria. The Market was made up of two sections, the main part consistsed of four commissioned agents who sold fresh fish on behalf of fishermen. The other section of the Market was made up of provedores who complimented the agents by specialising in imported fish, crustaceans, molluscs, shellfish and processed fish.�Businesses from all over Victoria, N.S.W. and S.A. used the market as their main source of fish.

C.H. Smith and Melbourne's Fish Market

CH Smith has had a long relationship with the Melbourne Fish Market and maintained database of commercially caught Victorian fish species with details including catch numbers, species attributes recipes and more. We are looking to reinvigorate this data so watch this space.

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Brief History

Melbourne's wholesale markets have a long history extending back to when the Port Phillip District was apart of New South Wales. The original Market opened on the site now occupied by the National Mutual Center in 1841, selling general merchandise, such as hardware, apparel, crockery, butchers meats, smallgoods, cheese, eggs, poultry, game, fruit, vegetables, garden produce and fish from the local rivers and bay.

The Melbourne City Council took over contol of the Market in 1842, soon after the N.S.W. Legislative Council passed an act creating the local government district of Melbourne.

As more and more fish were being supplied to the Market, the question of creating a separate fish market was considered in 1859. After some difficulty finding a suitable location, Melbourne's first fish market opened on the site now occupied by Flinders Street railway station in 1869.

In 1888, the ownership of this land was transfered to the Railway Commission in exchange for a 2.3 hectare site further along Flinders Street near Spencer Street, where the Fish Market operated from 1892 until 1959.

By the mid 1950's the moving of ever larger trucks into the rapidly expanding post war city became a major problem. As a result the City Council approached the State GOvernment to find a new site for not only the Fish Market, but the wholsale fruit and vegetable market located at Queen Victoria Market which was facing similar problems.

A suitable site was located in Footscray Road, West Melbourne which was issued the Council as a Crown Land Grand. The present Fish Market was constructed on 4.6 hectares and commenced trading in 1959 after being opened by the Premier Henry Bolle.