August 30th, 2024Daylesford’s merry men of The Shed

There’s little doubt that the blokes at the Daylesford Men’s Shed could whip up a nifty set of gates, a neat kitchen table or some handy signage.   

However, what goes on in this enthusiastic local shed is way, way more than that, as anyone strolling by the Shed in Victoria Park on a Monday mid-morning could tell you.   

It’s then that the shed’s music group gets together and the result is sufficiently impressive that it’s been known to lure in complete strangers eager to hear more.   

More than one of these ‘strangers’ has then gone on to become a regular participant in the Shed’s Monday music group where guitars and ukes feature quite a bit.

Regular sessions also take place on Thursdays at the Shed that’s been going since 2008. But it’s a far cry today from the early days when they used to occupy a disused chook shed that was kindly made available by the Agricultural Society.

These days the Shed is actually a set of three well-equipped and interconnected sheds. It’s also an independently run member of the Australian Men’s Shed Association and adheres to the organisation’s guiding principles.   

Inside, the Shed hums with chit-chat, enterprise and the sort of useful machinery that sees members turn out everything from fountain pens to street furniture. They’ve even turned out a set of xylophones for school kids.   

“Yes our members can make things, but it’s really more about the talking and the bonding that takes place in the process,” Shed secretary and one of the shed’s founding members Andrew Azzopardi, says.   

Andrew says that while many of the Shed members have the sort of practical backgrounds that mean they’ve got valuable trade skills, it’s important that they don’t get too bogged down by orders for this, that or the other.

Instead, he says, it’s the friendships that are made here and the unofficial networking and gasbagging that takes place that makes the shed so valuable for the 33 or so members that are currently on the books – plus the occasional ring-ins.

He says some of the Shed members are contending with things like social isolation, health challenges and personal trauma in their backgrounds and that’s where the Shed can really come into its own.

“Some guys have got real loneliness, loss or trauma issues,” says Andrew, a teacher by profession.   

Another of the shed’s founding members, Colin Dunlop says that with his not-so-nice background of negative workplace issues, the Shed has made a great positive difference in getting on with life today.   

“I was an airport firefighter and I got bullied out of the job. I had a bit of a breakdown,” says Colin who, besides regular Thursday sessions, brings a background  as a folk singer and guitar player to the Monday morning music group.   

The music group, which has become increasingly popular since it formed with just a couple of shed members about 18 months ago, has gone on to entertain in public at Christmas party gigs and Hepburn House.

“The blokes love it. Oh, and we need a keyboardist and a drummer,” Colin says.

Keen member of the music group and accomplished woodworker at the general Thursday gatherings, Georgio Buscema, sums it up  succinctly. “It’s the camaraderie basically,” he says.

“It’s great to be part of a group of men who have a common interest. It helps us get on with our lives with purpose.”

The shed has even started providing women’s woodworking classes on a Tuesday, working in conjunction with the local U3A.

Georgio is one of the Shed’s several tutors for these popular classes that are proving so in-demand that there’s a waiting list.

Generally, by the time Shed members have chin-wagged away a massive portion of their regular Thursday gatherings, maybe made a bit of progress on a constructive project or two, they’ll have worked up a fairly healthy appetite.

And that’s where the Shed’s self-appointed volunteer cooks come in.   

“We’ve got a range of guys, including our president, who are really, really good cooks,” Andrew says.   

Members can pay $5 extra to enjoy their talents in the kitchen of a Thursday Shed session lunch time. “No-one goes hungry.”   

Andrew says the Shed is keen to welcome new members and will be well represented at the upcoming Positive Ageing Expo, featuring a range of different community groups, at the Creswick RACV Forest Resort on October 10.

He says they’ll have a stand at the event, complete with musical performance featuring in-shed guitar talent, and be warned, they’ll likely also be bringing their ukes.

Further information about joining the Shed can be obtained by checking out the Shed’s website at www.daylesfordmensshed.com   

Words & images: Eve Lamb