Our capacity to influence change

An inspiring story from Lyn Carrodus in Darwin

By Lyn Carrodus

I lived in the rural area outside of Darwin. There were many Asian wives of the Australians living in the area. These men were often miners, prospectors, bush workers or cattle contractors so they were away a lot.

It was a lonely life for the women but they were very resourceful and many had spectacular vegetable gardens as they were used to planting in the tropical climate.

One day a couple of the women came to visit, as they knew I had a business in the Parap shopping centre. They had approached the big supermarkets in anticipation of selling produce to them. Of course the supermarkets were not interested, they had contracted with suppliers from down south. The women asked if they could put a Saturday stall outside my business, a busy spot on Saturdays.

Of course, if they had the courage to do this I could definitely support them. I rang the City Council and obtained a Permit for them. The enterprise was a roaring success and they were back again the next week with a few more of their friends. I quickly contacted the council again and obtained a permit to continue until the end of the dry season (October). The Council required them to move from the front of my business into the central garden area, a perfect spot with space and shady trees. They were also required to pay a small fee to cover insurance and cleaning.

It was such a delight to see these women earning an independent income and socialising. After the market they would sit and chat, swap left overs and their children also joining in the activities.

The number of stalls grew and the variety of food available also grew. It was the meeting place for the locals to go on Saturday morning for a laksa (Asian soup) or lassi (yoghurt drink) and the freshest of tropical fruit and vegetables. Everyone from the Administrator to labourers could be seen there.

The Dry Season finished and the Permit ran out. The women could not understand why they had to stop. They still rolled up, pitched a tarpaulin and carried on into the wet season … and the customers still kept coming. I went back to the Council to extend the Permit to annually rather than seasonally.

Eventually there was pressure for stall space as this central garden was limited. A couple of the stall holders came to me concerned that their friends could not get space. I then had an idea.

At the time the beach front along Mindel Beach was being upgraded and it would be perfect for a night market, huge space and beautiful sunsets. I had had enough of market organising, so I gave them the name of who to see in the Council and phoned to advise the officer responsible.

So began the famous Mindel Beach night market one of the tourist's highlights when visiting Darwin. Parap Market still flourishes and other suburbs also have markets. The tropical climate and the strong Asian population lends itself to this type of trading.

And to think it all began because of some gutsy women and bureaucracy that did not stand in their way.