FOR a little while, it looked like Yeoval’s Men’s Shed might close, but one small community wasn’t prepared to let it go without a fight.
Membership had dwindled, the Shed had been closed for a time, and a meeting was called to discuss whether there was enough interest to keep it going, but what seemed like the end became the start of something new.
Chris Milne, who moved to the community a few years ago, heard about the meeting and reached out on social media to ask: was it open to anyone, or just existing members?
It turned out there were plenty of other people who wanted to have their say too.
“Next thing I knew, people are banging on my door, and people are writing to me and ringing me and chatting away and wanting to know sort of what it’s all about,” Mr Milne said.
What followed was a revival of the shed, with a meeting that might have been about closing the doors instead drawing around 17 people, while membership climbed from just three people to 14 and former members who had drifted away from the Shed began expressing an interest in coming back.
“I think the community wouldn’t let it go,” Mr Milne said.
“The community has too much time, money, and effort invested in it.”
For Mr Milne, who ultimately took on the role of secretary, the value of the Men’s Shed goes a lot further than a place to build things.
Having spent years involved in community groups and committees, he had developed an interest in the role Men’s Sheds can play in men’s physical and mental health, particularly after studying nursing and coming across research into the health of older men.
He had seen some of that value for himself through a swimming group he belonged to on the coast, where the conversation was often exactly what you might expect from a group of blokes spending time together.
There was plenty of joking around and, as Mr Milne described it, “95 per cent crap”, but every now and then he said a man would let something more serious slip into the conversation.
“And then usually there’s another fella there to sort of say, well, you know, let’s have a bit of a chat about that,” he said.
It’s that kind of connection that Mr Milne said he believes makes Men’s Sheds so valuable, because men don’t necessarily need to sit down face-to-face and announce that they need to talk about something difficult.
“Fellas talk shoulder-to-shoulder,” he said. “They get around to what they want to talk about eventually.”
Someone might come in to work on a piece of furniture, learn how to weld, restore an old bike or simply sit in the sun with a coffee, and somewhere between the tinkering, there’s an opportunity to check in with the bloke standing beside them.
But the Shed isn’t intended to be all about serious conversations, and there will be plenty of opportunities for members to make things, learn new skills and discover that they are capable of something they had never tried before.
Members are looking at projects ranging from woodworking, metalwork and welding to furniture restoration, market items and children’s toys, while people will also be able to bring along their own projects and work on them alongside other members.
And for men who don’t have a project or a particular skill or even much interest in woodworking, there is still a place for them.
“People can come and sit in the sun and have a cup of tea and they’re more than welcome to do that as well,” he said.
For Mr Milne, flexibility will be important, particularly in a town the size of Yeoval.
“In a town of 300 people, you can’t afford to be rigid,” he said.
Now, the new committee is working through the practicalities of getting the Shed back up and running, including finalising insurance, registrations and its connection with the Australian Men’s Shed Association.
Mr Milne is hoping those pieces will fall into place quickly, with the aim of having the Shed operating by the end of September.
Before that, the community will have the chance to come along to an open day, meet the new committee, have a look around and find out more about what the Shed will offer, with Mr Milne keen to make it as welcoming as possible.
“If you want to have a look around, you want to think about joining, you can think about joining,” he said.
“If you just want to be a sticky beak, come and have a sticky beak.”
Membership will cost $30 per year to cover insurance, while the Shed will charge a further $3 each time members attend to cover tea, coffee, morning tea and the occasional barbecue.
People from surrounding areas will be welcome to join, with the Shed also considering activities such as fishing trips, walking groups, community working bees and even a community garden.