About Us
& Market HistoryAbout GREAT & History of the Olde Time Market
About Us
The GREAT Association
Gisborne Region Events Activities and Tourism
PO Box 9
Gisborne. Victoria 3437
Email: greatgisborne@gmail.com
The funds raised by the GREAT Association and the Gisborne Olde Time market are used to improve facilities in Gisborne ( paths, historical plaques, information bay, barbeque rotunda, seating, picnic tables etc) and are also distributed to Gisborne based community groups to enable them to continue their work.
Some of the community groups that have benefited are:
- SES
- CFA
- Gisborne Scouts
- Gisborne Chaplaincy Fund
- Gisborne Cemetery Trust
- Major sponsor of the Macedon
- Ranges Grand Tour
- Rotary
- Gisborne Aquatic Centre
GREAT is also proud of it’s publication The GREAT Gisborne Gazette. Commenced in 2006 as a community newspaper, this full colour monthly publication is distributed by volunteers to many thousands of readers in the south ward of the Macedon Ranges Shire and beyond.
The GREAT Association is a registered Not For Profit organisation, run by a group of dedicated volunteers who are interested in supporting the local community through the market and other events and activities. Interested in volunteering? Contact the Market Manager on 0431 563 566
History of the Gisborne Olde Time Market
In 1975 a young boy was knocked down by a car in Gisborne and because there was no local ambulance available to transport the unconscious patient to hospital, an ambulance was eventually located more than one hours travel time away, on the road between Echuca and Bendigo.
This experience by the local police Sergeant emphasised the need to provide an ambulance in the growing town of Gisborne. A public meeting was called by the Ratepayers’ Association and from that meeting the Gisborne Ambulance Auxiliary was formed in 1975, with members each donating a couple of dollars in order to open the initial bank account.
After the first fund raising event raised only $15, the Sergeant suggested that a market be held in the garden of Macedon House, the former 1847 Mount Macedon Hotel. The event proved such a success that it became a regular monthly event that moved to the service roads of Aitken and Hamilton Streets and now more than forty years later, continues to operate in this expanded area on the first Sunday of every month.
In 2002, the Ambulance Auxiliary handed over the management of the market to the newly formed GREAT Association.
GREAT had been formed in 2000 with the aim of raising the profile of tourism in the Gisborne area and of conducting and supporting events and activities for the benefit of the broader Gisborne community.
Since 2002, the Gisborne Olde Time Market, under the management of a team of GREAT volunteers, has grown in both size and in the quality of the home based products offered, conducting markets every month.
Funds raised from the markets have been and will continue to be used for the beautification of Gisborne’s parklands, the provision of local facilities and in on-going support of other voluntary groups including State Emergency Service, Country Fire Authority, Ambulance Auxiliary, Aquatic Centre, Rotary Club, Gisborne Secondary College Chaplaincy Fund, Historical Society, Macedon Ranges Health, Cambodian Kids, Windarring, Safari Club, Gisborne Singers and the Mount Macedon Petanque Club and the annual GREAT Macedon Ranges Grand Tour.
The GREAT Association is proud to continue the work started by the Ambulance Auxiliary and looks forward to an exciting time for Gisborne Olde Time Market and it’s stallholders.
