By Mikayla van Loon
In a decade of the Montrose Men’s Shed the group has helped support a large number of people in thousands of sessions.
Celebrating the official 10 year anniversary of the Men’s Shed on Thursday 14 March, it was a joyous occasion for new and old members.
“Exactly 10 years ago, we had our State member and our Federal member come to officially open the shed and they said ‘this is your temporary building’,” founding president Max Lamb said.
“Well it’s been a big success, that’s all I can say.”
Getting a start on establishing the Montrose arm of the Men’s Shed movement came from the generosity of the late Ken Dowling, who Mr Lamb paid tribute to on Thursday.
Despite having outgrown the old fire station building in Montrose, the group still gathers three times a week, with woodworking, a walking group and social activities all part of the offering.
Now entering its next phase of offerings, the men’s shed will teach people to fly a plane without leaving the ground.
Former charter pilot Chris Hodges has supplied the Shed with the FlySim program, a computer based flight simulator, running individuals through all the stages of learning to fly a plane.
Reflecting on the official opening on 14 March 2014, as one of the presiding government members, Yarra Ranges councillor Len Cox congratulated the Shed on the years it has provided conversation and friendship to the men of the foothills suburb.
“You’ve done a terrific job, all of you have and hopefully you’ve all enjoyed every day you’ve come down here,” he said.
“It’s been good to be able to mix with other people your own age and talk about all sorts of things and I just think men’s sheds generally have been one of the greatest advances for many, many years indeed and they’ll go on being that as well.
“I just wanted to congratulate you all on the 10 years that you’ve been here and who knows how far you’ll be in the future.”
Sharing in the celebrations as well was Federal Casey MP Aaron Violi who said it was a privilege to see the Shed thriving a decade on.
“A Men’s Shed or any community organisation only exists because community members put their hand up to volunteer and say we need this in our community, we’re going to make it happen,” he said.
“So Max to you, to all the founding members, thank you for what you did 10 years ago to make sure this important group could come together.”
Evelyn MP Bridget Vallence said for a decade, the Montrose Men’s Shed has been providing an incredible space for lifelong friendships to be forged and no doubt will continue to do so.
“Over 10 years, that’s over 1500 opportunities you’ve made available to men in your community to come together, to share time together, talk with one another, support each other through challenging and difficult times,” she said.
“To tinker around, use your hands and support each other in your own well being and mental health and just make great social connections.”
New members are always welcome to join and can inquire by sending an email to montrosemensshed@gmail.com
