About Men's Sheds

 

The "Shed" holds an important place in the Australian culture. It can be a reservoir of memories, experiences, a place to share skills and to socialise.

However, many retired people have had to downsize their living arrangements, often resulting in the man's personal space, usually the garden shed or workshop, being lost.

It is generally agreed that good health is based on many factors including self-esteem, feeling productive and valuable to society, having social relationships and being active.

So the idea of a "Community Shed" was born. Here, men could come and share a wide variety of tools, still pursue their interests in pastimes and hobbies, spend time with other blokes of similar interests, learn new skills and use tools for the first time - or keep old skills honed and productive. Here, men could also feel viable and vigorous by contributing to community needs and create projects of personal interest.

Men's Sheds have been around for many years. Research in 2002 found that there was about 20 Sheds in Australia. The were no support networks and little was known, there was also a lot of confusion about what a men's shed was and the movement was very fragmented.

In 2003 Men's Sheds Australia Ltd. was formed to provide support and resourcing for Sheds. This was followed in 2007 by the establishment of the Australian Men's Shed Association, independently formed to represent and promote the Men's Shed Movement and to act as a central hub for information exchange. The affiliated Victorian Men's Shed Association was formed more recently. These organisations now represent over 900 Men's Sheds in Australia.   The “Shed” movement has spread to the UK and Europe.

St Leonards Men's Shed is proud to be affiliated with both the Australian Men's Shed Association and the Victorian Men's Shed Association.