History of the Sussex Inlet Mens Shed

In May 2007 a group of local citizens decided to introduce "Men's Shed" to the Sussex Inlet community.

Unlike most other Men's Sheds, many of which were donated by churches, etc, We had to build our own.

If you are going to build a shed you need somewhere to build it, plus the money.

We issued a challenge to the citizens of Sussex Inlet asking "100 Men for $100" donation. This would raise $10,000.00 quickly. It was highly successful with 72 citizens making this donation which gave us the funds to get started. You would be amazed at what a group of Senior Citizens can achieve when motivated.

Building the Shed was only one of our activities.

Starting with the humble Myna Bird trap, we slowly extended our support to the wider local community.

We were quite amazed at the diversity of talents that we had at our disposal.

We also enjoyed our own social events such as sausage sizzles and BBQ's. And the coffee pot never runs out.

Our aim is to emulate the exercise carried out at the University of Bendigo. (See the Concept section).

We will create project teams in various disciplines so that the members of each will get to know one another and co-operate in a joint venture.

Our first such project was to build a small sailing dinghy, Called "The Fire Bug". A team of six men, who did not know each other, and had never before built a boat came together and fabricated a most impressive little boat. And now the team are like lifelong buddies.

That's what Men's Shed is all about.

Concept

The Men's Shed is a new concept to promote Men's health and well-being. Based on the reality that in retirement many Men become lost in a strange new environment. Suddenly our true worth is not fully appreciated by those around us. We are "has-beens". Yet we are still Masters of our Craft.

A study carried out by the University of Bendigo revealed some interesting facts about human behaviour. six Ladies, unknown to each other, were left in a quiet environment to see what would transpire. With-in ½ hour they knew all of their names, how many grand-children each had, those things that they saw as being most important in life and at the end of the session most had agreed to remain in contact to see what the results of this investigation were.

A similar investigation involving six elderly Men, also unknown to each other, had very different results.

Each Gentleman became an island unto himself, with only the most stilted of communication being apparent. After half-an-hour they barely knew each other's name. It seemed as though each one just wanted to maintain personal privacy and be left alone. The exercise looked to be a failure in the making. The investigator then took these men out to a paddock where-in resided an old tractor and asked them if they thought they could get it running again. With-in an hour they all knew each other's names, what they had achieved in life, where they'd travelled to, how many grand kids they had and they managed to get the tractor started after years of just sitting unloved in a paddock.

That's what Men's Shed is all about. Not fixing tractors, but becoming a part of life again. Doing the things that you used to enjoy before circumstances deprived you of that most precious of all male possessions, your beloved "Shed".

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