Whanganui couple revive Gonville Craft Market after 20 years

Gonville Hall's owners Emma Bugden (pictured) and Frank Stark are opening their property for a revival of the Gonville Craft Market.

Gonville’s historic crafts market is making a comeback for one weekend next month, thanks to two residents of the Whanganui suburb.

The market on Sunday, November 16, from 11am-3pm, will host a variety of artist stalls. Food will be available from Big Moose, and refreshments will be provided by Brews on Drews.

The revival of Gonville’s craft market is a passion project by the venue’s residents.

Emma Bugden and her partner Frank Stark bought the former Gonville Town Hall in Tawa St about four years ago. They have since turned it into an award-winning home, while still renting out some of the communal spaces.

“I mean, who wouldn’t buy a former civic centre if you had the opportunity to?” Bugden said.

They had been living in Gonville for several years when the property came up for sale.

The town hall, built in 1911, became redundant 13 years later when Gonville was absorbed into Whanganui. It subsequently went through a series of ownerships and function switches, including a community venue, preschool, fire station, municipal swimming baths and private accommodation.

“It has a really special history to Gonville, and it seemed like a really interesting property that we could give a new life to,” Bugden said.

The couple now live in what was formerly the swimming pool area of the property. Their creative conversion of the dilapidated space earned a national housing prize at the 2024 New Zealand Institute of Architects’ awards.

The rest of the property has been repurposed into various work and living spaces. During the week, they rent out the town hall to Glastonbury Dance Studio.

“When we can, it’s really nice to open the doors and invite the public in,” Bugden said.

The longer they spent in the building, the more they began hearing about the crafts market, which was held once a month in the town hall.

“As soon as we purchased that property, we started to become really aware of the long history of those venues and their connection to local people,” Bugden said.

“It seemed like quite a special part of the history that we thought would be lovely to give a new life to.”

Beginning in 1976, the Gonville Craft Market became a hub for artisans across Whanganui and beyond. It operated for 30 years.

Gonville Town Hall was closed to the public in 2006 after doubts about its structural integrity. It then went on the property market.

Bugden and Stark took over the building in 2021.

Bugden said they would keep the central theme of the revival market the same as the original, but with a modern twist. She came across an old advertisement for the markets and used it as a template for artisans and crafts to include.

“There won’t be any wooden CD racks, but I think there’ll be a lot of the essence of the previous craft market.”

It will feature ceramics, knitting, jewellery, candle-making, homewares, textiles, weaving, handcrafted wooden instruments and more.

“We couldn’t bring it back to what its previous lives had been - we’re never going to turn it back into a swimming pool,” Bugden said.

“But we liked the idea that you could take that history and give it a new story that would bring all those existing stories along with it.”

At this stage, the market revival would be a one-off event, but Bugden said they would use it to “test the waters”.

If the market was a hit, they would consider making it an annual event. Monthly would be too difficult with the building also being their home.

“Whanganui is such a creative city, there’s so many brilliant craft artists and makers in the region.

“We really wanted to shine a spotlight on some of them and give them a chance to share their wares.”