The Cromwell Menz Shed opens for business on Thursdays and Saturdays from 10am until 1pm, but at least a dozen members had already arrived and were busy working before 10am this past Thursday (August 24).

That eagerness to get involved is a big part of the success of the Cromwell Menz Shed, which has moved one leap further to having a permanent home with a $197,068 grant

awarded to it by Central Lakes Trust (CLT).

The grant was one of 14 in the trust’s August funding round, totaling $415,754 and bringing the total grants approved for the financial year ending March 31, 2024 to $3.7M. Trustee Russell Fowler said the members were very grateful for the grant, which was seed funding for a purpose-built Menz Shed to be constructed in Bannockburn Road, Cromwell.

“We needed to get that before we could proceed to any other funders,” he said.

The concept of a Menz Shed in Cromwell was first floated in early 2018 with help from funding from the Cromwell Lions. Meetings were held with a range of community groups before a public meeting in September 2018, with feedback showing a clear mandate to establish the facility. The concept is to provide a meeting place where men can work on community or custom projects, while also being a safe environment where they can discuss health and other issues in an open manner.

A charitable trust was established in March 2019 but the members lacked an essential item - a shed in which the men could work and gather.

Negotiations to locate the shed at another community group’s premises were unfruitful but, having established a working site at the Cromwell Racecourse in 2019 while they built jumps for the Central Lakes Equestrian Club, the club offered the site as a temporary base until the Central Otago District Council could assist in finding a more permanent site.

In January 2020, the council informed the Menz Shed that the equestrian club had no jurisdiction to grant that permission, but allowed the group to stay on at the Cromwell Racecourse at the council’s discretion, as it had no vacant buildings that would suit the Menz Shed’s needs.

Cromwell Menz Shed member Don Colling works on a restoration project for a customer.

An adequate site on Bannockburn Road was found by council and offered to the Menz Shed, who called for tenders for a purpose-built facility and put together a feasibility study, surveying not just members but the wider community.

Russell said the CLT grant added to $155,000 the members had raised themselves along with assistance from Lions and Rotary, but still left a shortfall of about $300,000 - $350,000.

“The men have raised themselves something like $55,000 just through building projects where we charge out for labour,” he said. “Because ours is capital expenditure, a lot of funders don’t do that.”

The Menz Shed trust is in talks with other funding agencies, including Otago Community Trust, which requires consents before further considering the request. A meeting of the trustees will take place on Thursday (August 31), at which they plan to sign off on a lease, construction plans and the consent process, Russell said.

Back at their temporary premises, the Menz Shed members have managed amazing things with help from the local community. They are operating out of two 40-foot shipping containers, one loaned and one donated, with an engineered shelter joining the two and providing shade and weather protection.

They had a donated portable building they used as a smoko room and, when that was taken back this year, the men built their own smoko room, again with help from the community. 

Just some of the many local businesses and individuals that have contributed are Mactodd Lawyers (the shelter), retired builder Mike Hedges (timber), Lewis Windows (double-glazed windows), and B&M Joinery (a bench top).

“We utilise most things we can get our hands on,” said manager Dennis Booth, who has been involved with the shed from its inception. 

He said the shed offers a place where men can gather together and talk, something that is not easily found, especially as people age and retire. A new purpose-built facility would provide room for more members, as not everyone could fit in the smoko room on most working days.

“It’s not all about working,” Dennis said. “It’s the men’s well-being and health that concerns me as well.

“You have guys who sit at home, who are retired and may have lost their partner and they look at the walls and think, ‘Is that it?’ There’s more to life than that.”

Marty Morrison has also been involved in the shed since the beginning and said he keeps coming back for the camaraderie, to meet up with the other men and keep himself busy.

“Otherwise I’d be sitting at home doing nothing and annoying my wife,” he said.

One of the members is a former builder, woodwork teacher, and foundation member of the Southern Institute of Technology who became an officer in the Salvation Army. 

John Richards is referred to by other members as ‘John the Baptist’ and brings skills honed through years as a teacher and a religious leader to the team; always there to listen, and visiting members at home if they are unwell.

“That’s a real privilege,” he said.

John said he admired the courage and persistence shown by the members.

“They get off their backsides, they come here and work, and it must cost some of them physically at times. It’s a gathering point for them, a meeting place.

“A lot of these guys are retired but this is something they can do for the community to give back.”