'I could see the potential': The woman who made Evandale famous

For all its Georgian splendour and villagey vibes, the township is largely famous for two things - the annual international penny farthing championships and the Evandale market.

Both have lasted 40-plus years, and both were created by Ms Pickett.

Now aged 86, the Launceston-based entrepreneur is happy to see both events still thriving under others' leadership.

"[The penny farthings are] a fantastic incident and a wonderful happening - people love to go back into the old-world style," she said.

"It's lovely to see your babies still growing.

"Peter Woolf has worked very hard to build [Evandale market] up to be the biggest and best country market in Australia and it's very good for Evandale too."

Ms Pickett grew up in Launceston and was the daughter of Ted Pickett, a multisport talent and state wicketkeeper who famously helped dismiss Don Bradman at the NTCA Ground in 1930.

He became national snooker champion in 1955 and passionately coached both his daughters in sport, but Ms Pickett's natural talents were always in antiques.

It was while working in Evandale's antiques shop in the 1970s that she bought one of the town's most historic homes and started the famous Evandale market.

"My husband at the time was always full of ideas and he came home one day and said 'what do you think about starting a market'?" Ms Pickett said.

"We looked over at the showgrounds, because we lived directly opposite there in Fallgrove, and I could see the potential."

Ms Pickett made her way around the villagers - who were mostly "third and fourth-generation Evandalites" - to seek their approval.

They eventually agreed, and the market was born.

"The first market we held, the town filled up the way it does today on Sunday and they all immediately said 'something bad's going to happen'," she said.

"They'd never seen so many cars in one spot in all their life."

The penny farthing races came about five years later, but proved equally successful.

A similar event had once been held in Tunbridge by Charles Smythe.

When the championships stopped, Ms Pickett asked to revive them in Evandale.

Mr Smythe happily "handed over the whole deal" - bunting, flags, participants - and a steering committee including late penny farthing stalwart Di Sullivan began organising the inaugural event.

The following year, Ms Pickett accidentally made her own history as a rider.

"They discovered we didn't have a representative for Tasmania so at the last minute I was dressed up," she said.

"I think I had pantaloons, a vest and a straw hat on - but I ran round and borrowed a small penny farthing bike and got on to just to be a representative.

"The other ladies that were riding in it all came from South Australia and they were all fairly refined ladies. They sat there on their bikes and pedalled very [elegantly] - of course I got on the bike and pedalled like a banshee and all of a sudden I'd passed them all and won the race."

Things changed.

Ms Pickett parted with her husband, sold the house, the market, and moved into Launceston.

She started Tullochs Auctions, which has also recently passed the 40-year mark.

For many years she hosted a weekly antiques talkback show with Jan Brown on ABC radio.

"It became very popular," she said.

"I used to get wonderful calls from old farmers who'd be out farming a paddock and be bored to tears but have their radio on. They'd phone up and describe things to me and then I'd inform them that they had a Huon pine desk worth $10,000 and you could hear them nearly falling off the tractor."

She also worked as a real estate agent, and spent one year following cyclist Phil McDonald in a car as he set a Guinness World Record by riding a penny farthing around Australia.

"I had a two-way radio in my car ... I'd hear [all] the truck drivers and the truck drivers said 'bloody oath you won't believe what's just ridden past me'."

Nowadays she is one of the quartet behind Four Women on George, an antiques and vintage clothing shop in the CBD.

For all her achievements, she remains most excited about what's still to come.

"I forget about the things I've done, because it's what's ahead of me that keeps me going," she said.

"I love challenges and also the fact that I didn't complete my matriculation at school - I'm actually proud that I've achieved all this without that certificate.

"I used to give quite a few little talks - people would ask me to do talks and really [it all] comes back to one main thing and that's being positive.

"If you throw away your negativity and you're positive, chances are you keep moving forward."