Shedding light on men’s sheds
I DIDN’T realise retirement for men could bring on mental health issues.
Makes sense to me now, as I remember men who worked hard for 50 or so years then found themselves with plenty of spare time.
My late Uncle John Dickie farmed at Gunnedah after the war until he retired in his 70s and took up the odd, but satisfying, hobby of collecting river water from around the globe, with me as his chief collector.
Still, that’s what he did and it kept him occupied for another 20 years as he labelled, catalogued and stored the precious drops.
Enter Merv Hinneberg, from the Pittsworth Men’s Shed, with a Facebook message asking to meet.
The offer was irresistible, and a place and time was agreed as the shed’s home at Pittsworth Pioneer Historical Village on Pioneer Way.
I love Pittsworth, having spent countless evenings there delivering seminars back in my Toowoomba Chamber days.
Merv leads the shed which, each Tuesday and Thursday, brings together men who might have had a range of conditions including boredom, loneliness, inactivity, depression and mental illness.
Pittsworth has 60 members aged from 27 to 87.
The Men’s Shed movement started in Albury, NSW, 10 years ago and now has grown to 1100 shed members.
The Pittsworth shed is indeed a busy one with a group of very happy fellows hard at work while sharing jokes and opinions.
Their motto is “shoulder to shoulder helping each other.”
They share skills while manufacturing a wide range of items for sale including survey pegs, stakes, concrete formwork, ornamental windmills, feral animal traps, garden seats and dog kennels.
All profits go back into running the shed.
Their new shed cost $100,000 to build and was funded by a Federal
Government grant, donations of money and materials, plus raffles.
The shed has amassed an incredible array of tools and would like to add a forklift to its inventory on the off chance some The Chronicle reader might have one lying around!
Membership is just $35pa and, not surprisingly, new members receive a polo shirt and cap donated by our good friend Graham Strang of Hip Pocket Workwear and Safety.
If you have an interest in joining the shed, have a challenging task to put to the men or would like to donate wooden furniture which could be restored, please phone Merv on 0488 224 779.
Oh, and Merv would love to speak to a “friendly” website developer as the shed desperately wants to advertise its wares and services worldwide.
As I bade farewell to Merv and his mates, he shouted out, “A town with a men’s shed is a strong town.”
I can’t argue with that.
THE PITTSWORTH SHED IS INDEED A BUSY ONE WITH A GROUP OF VERY HAPPY FELLOWS HARD AT WORK WHILE SHARING JOKES AND OPINIONS..