MEMBERS of the Mount Gambier Men’s Shed were active over recent months building toys to donate to charity as treasured Christmas gifts.
Although it is now a pivotal community service in the city, it was not long ago the valued social and activity centre was just an idea.
Long-time member and Eureka Mount Gambier Retirement Village resident Peter Young has shared his passion for the group and its progress over the years.
“We were established in 2010 and I was the second president a while back and got the current shed up and running,” Mr Young said.
“We started off in the back of the Mount Gambier Uniting Church up in the east part of town.
“We then moved out to the ready-mix plant in Lake Terrace East and the chap who ran the place gave us the smoko room for basically nothing.”
Mr Young believes the organisation payed a dollar for the time it occupied the premises.
“We did that up and painted it out, but we outgrew it very smartly,” he said.
“We approached the council about the matter and after 12 months they came up with the idea of using a part of their shed down Commercial Street West.
“It took us about a year to set up camp, but all the guys built everything inside and we are still there today.”
The shed has a constant flow of visitors that keep the members informed and busy.
“We had the head surgeon for the Mount Gambier hospital down a while ago who gave us a talk on cancer operations,” Mr Young said.
“We also have important talks about mental health.
“A great scone chef also cooks us beautiful and fluffy scones every day, which keeps us going.”
One major component of the shed’s activities is members crafting items to be sold or donated to the community.
“A lot of people make some good stuff in there,” Mr Young said.
“A chap came in a few weeks ago that looks after an 18-year-old disabled lad.
“He wants a swing set, so we are building him a strong one out of pipe that he cannot break.”
The members have also previously built over 200 bird boxes to be distributed to surrounding forest plantations.
They were hard at work over the festive season with over 200 toys ready for Christmas.
“Kids seem to like handmade stuff and would rather play with a $1 toy than something that is worth $50,” he said.
“We have made things like pull-along toys, trucks, trains, buses and the old traditional horse with the head, stick and wheels on it.”
Cooking classes are popular with many members becoming involved.
“We have a lot of chaps that come to the shed and their wives have passed away and they cannot cook for themselves,” Mr Young said.
“Instead of them getting reliant on Meals on Wheels, we teach them how to cook.
“The kitchen was completely donated by Masters and can hold around 45 people when we have smoko throughout the day.”
Health and safety is a must within the shed with regular supervision and check-ups when members are working.
“You cannot just open up a shed on a dark day and not have anyone there to supervise you,” he said.
“There are old men with power tools and we cannot handle them like we used to.
“Our reflexes are just not that fast anymore so two supervisors that previously worked in the Grant High School woodwork division come out to make sure we do not cut our fingers off.”
Numbers are continuously growing now with over 80 members involved.
“We are now open Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday due to the increase in numbers,” Mr Young said.
“Because we all spend so much time together, when people have operations, we go and see them in the hospital to make sure they are doing fine.”
Generous donations are made from community members, which keeps the shed up-to-date.
“We have wives of past shed members approach us with a heap of power tools they are never going to use,” he said.
“We clear it out for them and sell the tools, donating the money back to the widow and what we cannot sell we donate to our other men’s sheds.
“All the power tools we use have been donated by people and surrounding businesses.”
The organisation is a place where people can go for a social time with all people welcome.
“People can come down to the shed and talk away to their heart’s contents,” Mr Young said.
“It gives something back to the community as some would be otherwise sitting at home by themselves.”
