Stall owner Mario Cordedda said the clay pots, encrusted with coral from the ocean, were found years after the sea disaster which killed more people than the Titanic sinking.

About 300,000 Chinese porcelain artefacts, many unscathed, were found at the bottom of the ocean years later.

Mr Coredda has been making the trek to Ballarat for the fair for the last four years.

“I love the history of antique pieces,” he says. “I love being able to tell people about where their piece has come from and the stories it has behind it.

For vintage fashionista Catherine Fraser-Richards it was a cocoon jacket she brought from a market at age 11, which inspired a lifelong love of all things pre-loved. 

“I’ve got a lot of 40s and 50s clothing at the moment as I just got 100 new pieces so I’m really excited,” she says. 

Audrey Scarlett Vintage is just one of the 200 stalls that have set up shop at the annual Ballarat Antique and Vintage Fair.

Her stall was brimming with sequins, bright bold colours and fur coats.

This year, the event has been held for the last time at the Ballarat Exhibition Centre, in Wendouree.

The Ballarat Antique and Vintage Fair had already locked in Ballarat Trotting Club to host the event next year. 

Long-time fair organiser John Markworth said about 65 per cent of fair attendees came from outside Ballarat and usually took in the Begonia Festival and places like Sovereign Hill.

The Ballarat Antique and Vintage Fair runs until Monday afternoon.