A ribbon was cut at a special ceremony on November 14 to mark the official opening of the new 280 square metre shed located in the showgrounds, which replaces the original building at the rear of GlenView Residential Aged Care operated by Indigo North Health.
Rutherglen Men’s Shed President Ern Walder said that the new facility “means a lot” to the group, who have been working towards securing a new facility since outgrowing the old location they had been operating out of since the group’s inception in 2005.
“Our membership grew and we simply had limited space there,” Mr Walder explained. “We’ve gone from two or three very regular members to 12 very regular members and we have up to 20 members.
“The old shed behind Indigo North Health was a quarter of the size of the new shed. We couldn’t have more than four people working at once.
“It means a lot that now we have a space where more people can come and do some work or even just sit around and have a talk if people have problems that often we can help with.”
The Men’s Shed received $60,000 dollars from the state government, $17,000 from the Ken and Lee Jasper Foundation, $7,000 from Indigo North Health along with other smaller donations in order to secure the funds for a new facility.
The ceremony was attended by about 70 people, including former state MP and local resident, Ken Jasper, mayor and deputy mayor of Indigo Shire, Cr Jenny O’Connor and Cr Sophie Price, and Manager of Population Health & Community Wellbeing at DHHS, Dr Alana Hulme, who was there on behalf of the Victorian State Government.
Cr O’Connor said she was delighted to attend the ceremony as her first official duty as mayor after being elected two days prior.
“It’s only since being involved in local government that I’ve come to understand just how important Men’s Sheds are in our rural communities,” she said.
“They’re a critical part of what keeps a community functioning.
“I’ve listened to stories from men who have lost their wives, have become retired or been through an illness, and the thing that got them through was the friendship and companionship of the Men’s Shed.”
The Rutherglen Men’s Shed was established to engage local men from a broad range of backgrounds to develop, build and maintain community assets, help community members with small projects as well as working on projects of their own in a safe and supportive environment.
The Men’s Shed is also a skills exchange, where those with either trade qualifications or simply manual skills can share their expertise with other members. It also provides a social and support outlet for men who otherwise might be socially isolated or needing emotional support.
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