Maryborough Station Antique Emporium

The Maryborough Station Antique Emporium is located in Maryborough, Central Victoria, about 2 hours drive from Melbourne. It's housed in the beautiful Maryborough Station, which is being cleaned and restored and the building itself is well worth a look. The antiques "emporium" part of the building actually doesn't take up that much space. The main antiques are housed in a room off the cafe and mainly consist of small furniture, porcelain and other small items such as jewellery, enamel signs and glassware. There are also new materials in the same room, such as silver jewellery and art vases. In general, I do not think there are enough antiques, or that they are of a high enough quality, to warrant repeated visits. Also, the service can be pretty shoddy. Last time we were there, we inquired about the prices of a couple of items that didn't have price tags. They were unwilling to even attempt to phone the dealers or take our details to give to the dealers next time they were in - both things that are standard practice at other antique centres. Also, when we did purchase something, one person didn't know how to use the eftpos machine, and then the other charged us the wrong amount! I understand that centres like these are mostly staffed by the dealers who put in a certain number of hours each week - but in most of the other antique centres, they ensure their dealers know how to do basic things like take a sale!

It was funny we bought anything at all, as we had actually gone for the food. The Station Cafe is a fantastic place for lunch, and uses local produce and wines almost exclusively. Everything is homemade on the premises and the menu is constantly changing. The cafe is a nice place to sit and has many of the original features of the station. However, the high ceilings mean it can get noisy during the lunch hour(s) if a bus tour or similar arrives.

While I would not recommend the Maryborough Station as a place to visit solely for the antiques, it does make a nice day trip to drive up through central Victoria and have lunch in the station cafe before taking a quick look at the antiques. I should also note that they have an outdoor antique and collectables market at the Station which is held about three times a year.

Summary: Maryborough Station Antique Emporium
Railway Station, Maryborough, Victoria, 3465 Australia
Ph: 54614683