Turn Back Time at Terrigal Vintage Fair
Under the shade of the paperbark trees surrounding Terrigal Scout Hall, tables are topped with everything from typewriters to thimbles and tea cups.
When Terrigal Antique and Vintage Fair rolls into town for a weekend every quarter, it’s like a trip down memory lane.
At fashion stalls, frocks – tailored, flowy or puffy depending on the era – hang alongside leather, felt or shoulder-padded jackets.
While tables are laden with glomesh galore, patent purses aplenty and lovely Victorian lockets hanging on silver chains.
Some tools look as though they’ve been recovered from an archaeological dig circa the Stone Ages.
The rackets and records might one day prompt a similar response from millennials.
Much-loved teddy bears and matchbox cars take you back to childhood in an instant.
From the antique dressers and glass cabinets of grandparents, there is an endless supply of silver spoons, crystal, crockery and chocolate boxes, as well as ornate brooches and hair brushes.
Retro Audrey Hepburn sunglasses and ashtrays from a time when smoking was cool add some old-school glam.
While stacks of suitcases in seventies shades have been transported from the golden era of travel when ships were a common mode of traversing oceans and flights were a luxury.
The big brands are all there – Pepsi drinks trays, Coca-Cola cooler boxes and Arrnotts biscuit tins.
Also lamps and lanterns, baskets and boxes, shoes and surfboards – at a bargain price. If a price doesn’t sit right, this is the place to bargain.
Who knows what that doll, comic or vase could be worth some day (just ask Antiques Roadshow).
While some have simply recycled some cool bottles or emptied their book shelves, most are passionate about the past.
This is a marketplace for antiquarians and the collections they have curated over a lifetime.
Coastal Chic Tip: Terrigal Antique and Vintage Fair runs over a weekend every season with 2017 dates including January 21 & 22, April 22 & 23, July 15 & 16, October 21 & 22.