SIX years after it was gutted by an electrical fire, Wagga Wagga’s Men’s Shed has been named Australian Shed of the Year at the National Men’s Shed Conference.
President Peter Quinane said members were thrilled to receive the accolade just six years after the fire caused extensive damage to the group’s smoking room, library and office.
He said while members were shocked by the fire, they were in turn buoyed by the community response.
“We missed out on our smoko the next morning, but by the morning after, we’d already had two crib huts donated by a local building firm,” he said.
“We were well looked after by members of the community and the local business community.
“Anything we wanted, we would just go and see someone.”
The chapter completed and reopened its new shed, valued at $680,000, in June 2015.
Projects completed by the shed have included making seating for the Red Gum walking tracks.
Peter joined the chapter in 2009, about two years after it was founded.
He first approached the shed to donate a bunch of irises his sister-in-law had wanted to give away.
When he arrived, he ran into a few old friends he had known from his previous membership in the Lions club.
Peter was quickly persuaded to join and contributed his portable saw mill and a forklift for group use, increasing the scope of projects that could be undertaken.
“I’d just finished renovating our house and figured it would give me something to do,” he said.
Today the shed runs a wide range of activities including beekeeping, vegetable gardening, woodturning and a barbecuing committee.
Other features include a sensory garden, metal and wood workshop, the rebuilt library, which contains more than 2000 books, and a hive for beekeeping.
Wagga Wagga Men’s Shed would like to hear from any men in the area interested in joining.