This year is the 30th Anniversary celebrating Men’s Sheds in Australia – and who do
we have to thank for that?
A woman, of course!
In 1993, Maxine Chaseling (nee Kitto), coordinator of The Heritage Club, an
activities centre for the older generations in Goolwa, South Australia, conceived the idea of a
men's shed after her own father had become depressed, stuck at home and no longer able to
work after suffering a heart attack.
She noticed that the only thing giving her father purpose was working in his shed.
Maxine saw that when the club’s GA was working in his garage, some of the blokes who
were uninterested in the women’s activities would wander over and chat with him.
Maxine started a group at the Heritage Club to give the men purpose, for socialising,
and ultimately to create better health outcomes. It worked, and the men's mental health levels
improved, along with their happiness.
At this point, the program was known as…The Shed.
And now there are over 1,200 Men’s, Women’s and community sheds in Australia,
and almost 1,000 around the world.
This encouraging story was included in a presentation to Engadine Probus in August,
and your writer was well-received by over 100 ladies and men. We discussed men’s health,
the various things we do at our Shed, and discussed the Glowworm Tunnel and the
Helensburgh Station Sign the Shed made.
So where do YOU fit into what I like to call Your Shed in the Burgh? We have a spot
for you at the morning-tea table, a mug with your name on it, something yummy to eat and
something useful to do, all whilst you chat shoulder to shoulder with a great bunch of blokes.
Come on in and have a look.
Here’s members Ian Jackson and Steve Seville with Kane Organ from the Burgh
mine, with two coal skips we restored for display in Charles Harper Park. Thanks to
Metropolitan Coal for their generous assistance, Helensburgh Lion’s Club for driving the
project, Wollongong Council for the display site preparation, and local Andrew Paine for
donating two genuine coal picks.