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Since opening five years ago, the Men’s Shed Warkworth has provided retirees with a place to share their skills, “have a cuppa and a laugh”, and work on practical projects, many of which are benefiting the community.
Their projects have included the colourful seats and planter boxes in Warkworth and Wellsford town centres, playground equipment at early childhood centres and the Warkworth Birthing Centre, and free community book stands. They are also heavily involved in building predator traps and working with Less Waste on recycling and re-purposing projects.
Current chair David Little says the shed has around 40 members who are mostly retired, although that is not a prerequisite.
“The shed is a great place for blokes to learn new skills,” he says. “We see builders teaching engineers their skills and vice versa, and we see accountants being shown a plethora of skills they did not have the opportunity to learn in their working life.
“There is also a strong social component – we’ve normally solved the problems of the world by the time we’ve finished morning tea.”
Based at the Warkworth Showgrounds, Little says the organisation is extremely grateful for the support of the A&P Society in providing a venue, as well as the community at large, who have generously supported the shed with donations of tools, materials and labour.
He says many couples find that after retirement, the shock of suddenly being with each other 24/7 can cause friction so, unsurprisingly, women are among the shed’s most ardent supporters.
“Men are known to have smaller circles of friends than women, so our shed offers new opportunities to foster friendships outside the social circles that partners establish.”
The shed is open Monday to Thursday, from 9am to 1pm. New members are very welcome.
Annual membership costs $50, with a one-off joining fee of $50. Little says the funds are used to purchase supplies and equipment.
