In 1975 the Ostend Market was started by Putiki School, a private school promoting alternative education, and was held on the property of Don and Barbara Chapple, Hekerua Bay. As a fundraising venture the parents of Putiki School held the Ostend Market once a month on a Saturday. They did so for several years.

In 1981 Jenny Barre was approached by Don Chapple and asked if the Waiheke Community Creche (later called Waiheke Community Childcare Centre) would like to take over the running of the market as Putiki School numbers were dropping and there were fewer parents available to work the market day. The Creche was in its infancy. There were no government subsidies then and parent fees could not possibly cover all expenses so fundraising was imperative. The Creche Committee accepted willingly and immediately went to holding the Market fortnightly. We did so for six months from June 1981.

Over the summer of 1981/1982 we ran the market every Saturday permanently. At that time the Creche sold refreshments from the hall kitchen, collected stall fees and had a stall of its own. This was very successful for several more years.

In October 1995 The Ostend Market was included in the Anzac Reserve Management Plan with Auckland City Council and a Licence to Occupy part of the Ostend Reserve was formalised in the Auckland City Council District Plan.