From tools to talk: Town's men’s shed celebrates 10 years

Nestled at the very end of Darkes Forest Road, a compound of shipping containers forms a workshop filled with tools and machinery – a place where blokes have been making anything they wanted, including conversation, for a decade.

The Helensburgh Men’s Shed is marking the anniversary in the workshop on September 13.

Committee members Ian Jackson and Mark Bray are close friends with a gushing story of how they hit it off.

“We met at the shed,” Mark says. “No big moment – just kind of did.”

Mark is the treasurer for the ‘Burgh shed, having joined in 2019 as he transitioned from working full time as an accounts manager for a printing plate manufacturer. For him, it was strange not being in a busy environment with other working men.

“I met a whole heap of blokes that were like minded,” Mark says.

“My wife was impressed because she said, ‘you’re out of the house – now you’re not going to annoy me”.

Ian is public officer and has been around since the beginning in 2016.

“There was an advertisement in town saying ‘anyone interested put your name down’, and my wife put my name down for me,” Ian says.

As committee members, Mark and Ian help run the shed, Mark looks after funds and reports, and Ian handles government paperwork as well as looking after IT.

Ian worked in the pharmaceutical industry and “always had an interest in computers”. When he retired, he completed a mechatronic engineering degree at university and stayed on to teach as he started his PHD.

“I’ve always been able to entertain myself,” Ian says.

“I’ve recently set up my own server at home with local AI agents. If anybody in the shed’s got a problem with computers, it’s ‘hey, there you are!’”

During the COVID pandemic, Ian set up a key fob system for the shed to ensure contactless signing in and off to keep the shed running through lockdown.

Mark has a more hands-on background, starting as an apprentice at a printing plate company in 1969 before moving into management.

“I worked in a very male-dominated industry ... after doing that for 50 years to suddenly not have those male contacts and blokes to talk to, it became a practical way of talking to other people,” Mark says.

“I try and make sure that I at least say hello to everybody each day, even if it's only a two-sentence conversation.”

According to Ian, Mark is “the kindred spirit at the shed”.

Mark believes the shed looks after its members' physical health as well.

“It gives you a chance to talk about health things that you might not discuss,” Mr Bray says.

“We have a health and safety officer, and he gives us lectures on men’s health.”

Health assessments, hearing tests and awareness about prostate cancer are all common at the shed.

Work starts at 9am, and Ian and Mark are always first to arrive, unlocking and setting the place up. The rest of the crew filter in around 10 in the morning and set to work until breaking for morning tea at 10:30am. Countless cups of tea and coffee are accompanied by chit-chat and the occasional raucous laugh, then its back on the tools at the strict time of whenever they feel like it before shutting up shop at 3pm.

The Helensburgh Men’s Shed started as a social group at the Anglican church before joining under the charity umbrella of The Hope Church before seceding and becoming an official men’s shed in 2016.

In 2024, the shed opened its workshop to women, hosting ladies’ groups and training sessions to accommodate women who were handy or wanted to learn in a safe space.

“One lady came up to me with an oven door in her hand and said, ‘my husband hasn’t got a clue, and he doesn’t own any tools – is this something you can fix?” Mark says.

“After it was fixed, she said ‘can I join? I want to learn how to use tools.’”

While the spot in Darkes Forest is charming, it is temporary as the group are trying to acquire land to build a permanent facility.

For more information and how to join, visit helensburghmensshed.org.au.