Indulging in one of my favourite Saturday morning pastimes, I can’t help but think of the well-worn phrase, ‘One man’s trash is another’s treasure’. The ritual of trawling garage sales, or lawn sales as they’re called up here, is a bit of an art in Darwin, and its transient population often means you can score a bargain if you’re willing to put in the effort. With a 20 percent population turnover annually, many people leaving town are keen to sell the excess they have accumulated during their time here, in preference to sending it back down south.
A good lawn sale forage is a bit of an adventure; waking up early to get the paper, tearing out the classified section, circling appealing listings, carefully plotting your course before heading out for the morning, armed with a street directory. The offerings can be bountiful or not-so, but the journey is the fun part, driving to different parts of the city, maybe picking up trinkets along the way.
It has a voyeuristic vibe. Entering a complete stranger’s home to inspect their personal wares, and imagining how random parts of their life might fit into yours; sometimes with only a cursory glance before continuing on your way.
Late in the year, Top End residents gather together any unused furniture and items which might blow away in a cyclone for the council to collect. These cyclone collection days are another opportunity to nab treasures, with anything from beds to bar fridges being left on the sidewalks.
I’ve met people who have become lawn sale and cyclone collection experts, applying strategic tactics to their Saturday morning rounds. One friend jumps on her scooter and does a few loops of the streets, scoping out and making a mental note of location of the best treasures, before she and her boyfriend bring the ute to collect the must-haves.
Another friend has completely furnished her loungeroom with retro-style pine furniture gleaned from cyclone collections in upmarket Darwin suburbs.
Although my rounds of the lawn sales were fairly fruitless this morning, I still revel in the adventure and sense of surprise in visiting each address, never quite knowing if the next stop will hold the perfect addition to my life.
