Treasurer Ian Carrington says the Men’s Shed is all about bringing men together.
Corowa Men’s Shed has spent its entire existence in irony until now, finally celebrating the official opening of their new shed on Honour Ave with a morning tea last Friday.
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The community-based group whose primary purpose is to bring men together had seen the men separated in the past, with four different sites needed across Corowa to complete their work.
Treasurer Ian Carrington said it made it hard to ensure everyone’s safety, but now that they’re all in the same place it’s much easier.
“A lot of people come along just to have a cup of coffee and a chat,” Ian said.
“And that’s fine because that’s what we’re here for.
“But when you’ve got everybody split across four sites it makes things hard, it’s difficult for everyone to mix, and we had to turn new members away because we just didn’t have the room.
“Now we’re all under the same roof and it’s much better, we can accommodate any number of members.”
The men’s shed assemble pig feeders for local piggery JBS Rivalea.
The men now have a site befitting their purpose after a lengthy and challenging transition that took almost three years from turning the first sod.
Ian said the project got off to a slow start, with the increasing cost of materials constantly pushing the price of construction up.
“Getting each step organised with tradies as things progressed was a challenge,” Ian said.
“We got our certificate of occupancy last year, but we still had plenty to do to get the site ready.
“Club Corowa was good enough to loan us the money to get the concrete poured.
“Before that, the yard turned to mud whenever it rained, and you’d be two inches taller by the time you got into the shed.”
Jeff Wenden, Glen Forge and Lyn ‘Freddo’ Fredericks with Kelly Ralph and the 50 year old bench seat the Men’s Shed are rejuvenating for Kelly.
He said with the building now complete they can focus on paying the bills from its construction and then contributing back to the community.
The Corowa Men’s Shed formed in 2017, spawned from the Corowa community garden after the gardens had been set up and the men ran out of things to do.
With seven foundation members and a NSW government grant for fit-outs and equipment, Corowa Men’s Shed was born.
Federation Council offered the use of the old Y-Unit building on Queen St, which had previously been used for youth meetings, but the small size meant additional work sites were needed.
Work began on the new shed on Honour Ave in March 2023, and is now a space to keep all equipment, with enough room for a growing membership to complete their work from one site.
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