Camaraderie
Our Story
Ken Bowie, Peter Bailey and Graham Sycamore at 34 Forth Street Shed
Our story began in 2017, when Graham Sycamore, Peter Bailey, Ken Bowie and other group members envisioned opening a shed for men to create some community spirit. Our founding members certainly drew inspiration from the MENZSHED New Zealand, a charitable organisation that has established communal sheds throughout the country for men to learn new skills, meet new people, and help out the community. To know more about national organisation click here.
Our start-up efforts were well received and supported by members, friends, donors, and local community organisations. The team finally could secure a shed in 34 Forth Street from Invercargill City Council and was opened officially by Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt in 2018. Since then, membership grew remarkably, activities and community projects ramped up significantly, and so the need for a larger space. We secured a larger space from HWR Properties at 55 Liddle Street which allowed us to add additional facilities for engineering, electrical and electronics projects.
The official opening of MenzShed Invercargill by Mayor Sir Tim Shadbolt. (Photo Source: Stuff)
Shed Manager Peter Bailey and other members at 55 Liddle Street shed (Photo Source: Stuff)
The new shed at 55 Liddle Street is up and operational now with the help and invaluable contributions of our member volunteers. We also received humungous support from local community organisations and HWR properties to build a safer and exciting workspace for our members. To know more about our funding sponsors click here.
Making a Difference
Mission
Our overall mission is to accommodate men – primarily elderly persons, to come, learn and work on their hobbies and small scale community projects. We see members who find it useful when they moved out of their old house and don’t have space for a big workshop anymore. As Graham Sycamore, our founding life member once said “it’s a place where blokes can go to chew the fat and have a bit of natter as well”. However, it’s not only about working on community projects or personal hobbies, it’s also a great way to foster new friendships and building camaraderie.
Underfoot Syndrome
Retirement can be an exciting time that allows you to pursue your interests and to have a laid-back lifestyle. However, for some men, it can be challenging. With retirement, the time spent in the partner’s company greatly increases. This intensive contact can disturb the balance of the relationship and bring unresolved tensions to the surface. The shock of suddenly being with each other every waking hour can cause friction at home. So, the shed is a great place to escape the stresses of “underfoot syndrome”. (Source: MenzShed, NZ)
What’s Next?
For men who do not find new meaningful activities to replace work, there is the risk of boredom and a sense of purposelessness that can be stressful and lead to depression and other health problems. The greatest challenge in retirement is defining yourself less in terms of your roles and activities — what you do — and more in terms of simply being. A shed is a great place for blokes to learn new skills. We have builders teaching engineers some of their skills and vice versa, we see accountants being shown a plethora of skills they never had the opportunity to learn in their whole working life. And finally, it’s always fun and exciting to learn, create and build new things. Isn’t it? (Source: Mensline.org)
Share your load!
Loneliness and isolation are a risk in old age for the simple reason that as people grow older, more and more of their friends tend to move away, die, or lose the mobility needed to keep in touch. This is particularly an issue for men, who tend to emphasise self-reliance and put less effort into maintaining their social networks. Many men do not realise the extent of their reliance on work friendships until after retirement. So, the Shed offers a great opportunity to foster new friendships. Shed’s purpose is not only to replace work but also to improve mental well-being and reduce depression. Come! let’s share the load in the “smoko”. (Source: Mensline.org)
