Zeehan's biggest weekend
The Zeehan gem and mineral fair, 7 and 8 November 2026
The West Coast Heritage & Minerals Fair, which everyone including the organisers calls the gem fair, runs on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November 2026. It is the biggest weekend of the year in Zeehan, and it is a short walk from our front door.
- When7 and 8 Nov 2026
- Where114 Main St, Zeehan
- From the hotelWalking distance
Photograph: Kim Dunstan
It is held at the West Coast Heritage Centre at 114 Main Street, which is the town museum, so the fair and the collection are the same trip. Traders travel from across the country for it, and the gem and mineral showcases are the reason most people come.
There is more to it than the stalls. Traditional blacksmithing and competitive woodchopping both run across the weekend, and there are activities for children, which makes it a genuine family day rather than a specialist one.
The thing to understand about this weekend is the arithmetic of a small town. Zeehan does not have many beds, and for these 2 days it needs a great deal more of them than it has. If you intend to come, book well before November rather than in October.
We are on Main Street, the same street as the fair, so you can leave the car at your room for the whole weekend.
Breakfast opens at 5am, every day
Breakfast runs from 5am, so a trader with a stall to set up eats before anybody else in town is awake.
Practical
If you are trading
- Most stallholders want the Friday night, not just the Saturday, so they can set up without rushing.
- Parking is at your room door, which matters when you are unloading stock rather than luggage.
- The buffet breakfast opens at 5am every day, which is well before you need to be setting up.
- The bistro and public bar are on site, so dinner after a long day does not mean driving anywhere.
- Call the hotel directly for a multiple night rate rather than booking the nights separately.
Stay the night at the Heemskirk
Zeehan runs out of rooms for this weekend. Book yours before it does.