Manjimup’s Men’s Shed holds open day to encourage membership for keen labourers

The Manjimup Men’s Shed hosted an open day on Saturday for those interested in having a gander through the shed or signing up as a member.

The men’s shed open day had a sausage sizzle, a blacksmithing demonstration from Paul Fonty, the Lions and Emergency Services along with items for sale.

Men’s Shed president Francis Hull said the open day was to show the public what the members do and why their work was important, and he had been happy with the outcome.

“We are inviting the general public down to see what we do and people have started rolling up and we’re happy with that,” he said.

“I’m quite pleased with how the open day went as everyone who visited has been interested in what we are doing.”

The Manjimup Men’s Shed has been involved with creating woodwork and metalwork projects for businesses, residents and the shire in and around Manjimup, according to Mr Hull.

“We complete projects, from either the shire, local residents or businesses, to keep the shed running, with income from the projects covering our rental and overhead costs and building up funds for down the track,” he said.

“We have done some recently for the shire, including picnic tables for the Heritage Park, we’ve done smaller projects including an ironing board for someone who uses a wheelchair, so they can sit and do the ironing.”

The shed, which opened in Manjimup in 2015, is part of the growing trend for men’s sheds around Australia, providing an opportunity for blokes to create projects and get involved in the community.

“Initially we didn’t have a shed to work in, so we did some jobs out of the members’ sheds themselves and then we came to here,” Mr Hull said.

Mr Hull encouraged anyone interested to consider signing up and attending a weekly meeting.

“People who are interested can come and sign up down here and normally we are open Tuesday and Thursday from 9 to 3 and on Wednesday from 9 to noon.”