Sydney’s $836 million Fish Market faced one of its first major tests as tens of thousands descended on the new visitor attraction on the first two days of the long weekend, forcing officials to put in place crowd-control measures for a short time on Sunday.
Braving high temperatures, large numbers of people used the Dulwich Hill light rail line to get to and from the fish market on Sunday. After hopping off trams, people queued at the one Opal ticket reader on the westbound platform to tap off at the Wentworth Park stop, nearest to the new fish market.
Outside the market, attendants at the entrance to an underground car park regularly put up a sign showing it was full before enough vehicles left to allow it to be taken down and others to enter. The new fish market has 400 car parking spaces, the same number as the old facility next door.
Inside the market, the concourse was heaving with people before 11am on Sunday, and long queues formed outside some outlets for takeaway meals.
Christie’s Seafood partner Mandy Kwok said the new market had definitely been busier than the old facility. “It has been more than we expected. There are a lot of people trying us out,” she said. “It’s a new chapter.”
Nicholas Seafood manager Angelo Vaxevani said staff were flat out serving customers at its large outlet at the market on Sunday, and he expected Australia Day would be even busier. “It’s much busier than the old [market],” he said.
The NSW government has lauded the new site as the third major landmark on Sydney Harbour, joining the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, and forecast it will attract more than 6 million visitors annually. The market has a cap of 5000 visitors at any one time, and remains open until 10pm from Sunday to Thursday, and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.
Sydney Fish Market said it almost reached capacity on the main retail floor on Sunday when numbers peaked at about 4500 people inside at once, resulting in crowd-control measures for about 45 minutes. More than 30,000 people were estimated to have visited on Sunday before 4pm.
It is the second time since the market opened last Monday that crowd-control measures have been enacted. On Monday, people had to queue to enter the main retail floor after it reached the cap of 5000 people for several hours over the lunch period.
Ahead of the long weekend, Transport for NSW had warned that the new fish market was expected to be “very busy” on its first weekend of trading. Visitors have been encouraged to use public transport, including buses and light rail.
Asa Wahlquist, from the Glebe Society resident group, said “an incredible number” of people had visited fish market over the first week of operations, resulting in reports of queues at Central Station to catch trams to the stop nearest to the new visitor attraction.
“The light rail has been very busy. There are hordes of people walking from the light rail across Bridge Road,” said Wahlquist, who is on a community consultative committee for the new market.
She said there had also been a noticeable increase in motorists cruising nearby streets looking for spots to park, which were “all taken by 11am”.
Light rail services were halted between Dulwich Hill and Lilyfield shortly before 4pm on Sunday after a tram needed repairs. Power supply problems in the early afternoon also stopped trams running along George Street in the central city between Town Hall and Circular Quay.
The old fish market light rail stop has been renamed Bank Street because Wentworth Park light rail stop is now closer to the new facility’s entrance. The latter is in line for a $40 million accessibility upgrade, including new lifts and ramps, and improved lighting and signage.
Sydneysiders and tourists will have to wait at least a year before ferry services to the new fish market begin because a $30 million wharf has yet to be built.
Penrith residents Stacy Carr and Mark Del Villar visited the fish market on Sunday as part of a “staycation”, and thought it was “very sophisticated” as they prepared to sit down outside to enjoy a glass of wine.
“Inside, they cater for everybody. You’ve got food and carvery. In terms of price points, it’s what we expected. Yes, we are out of pocket, but it’s been worthwhile,” Carr said.
“We had friends and family from western Sydney come out yesterday. They’ve got quite a large family and they needed wheelchair access. They spoke very highly of their experience [at the new market].”
