Celebrating 10th Men’s Shed year

From a humble idea in regional Australia, there are now more than 2,500 Men’s Sheds operating in 12 countries around world.
Canterbury Men’s Shed president Esther Roberts said she tried everything to get members back.
“Some are now looking to join Bankstown and East Hills but that’s it for me as those groups don’t take women,” she said.
East Hills Men’s Shed president Brian Barrett says it’s a shame Canterbury has folded and that his group is for men only as they don’t have female amenities.
“But our group has been going like a rocket,” he said.
“We are back doing monthly barbecues at Bankstown Airport and have just completed refurbishing East Hills Primary School’s indigenous plant garden and playground.”
Likewise, Bankstown Men’s Shed is thriving and recently hosted a spectacular 10th anniversary celebration.
President Oleh Ostrowsky says the Shed is ‘home away from home’ for the members.
“From the outside, this is just another building but it’s not until you’ve spent some time inside that you realise that the building has a ‘soul’,” he said of their former council garden stores building in Birrong.
“We celebrated our anniversary as a way to thank a lot of hard work by our current and departed members and generous support from the council and our many other benefactors.”
Shedders all over Australia devote much of their time to worthwhile community endeavours through building projects, donating arts and crafts, participating in community events and promoting men’s health and wellbeing.
“Men’s Sheds foster community spirit, cultivate social connectedness and contribute to building a more inclusive Australia,” Australian Mens Shed Association (AMSA) Chairman Paul Sladdin said.
Find out more at mensshed.org.