First ever Campbelltown Men’s Shed is up and running

High up on a rise along Badgally Road a group of older men are toiling outside a shed.

They are cleaning up neglected garden beds in preparation for a brand new Campbelltown men’s shed they hope will be in full swing by early next year.

It will be the first ever men’s shed for all of Campbelltown.

There is another men’s shed in Airds, but a change in focus in the past couple of years turned many members off and they left.

Some of them did not want to lose the benefits of a men’s shed so they set out to start their own independent men’s shed.

They are the new men’s shed secretary Kevan Harder, president Ian Bennie and treasurer Richard Parisi.

After more than a year of trying to find suitable premises, they were offered a short term lease by the Hume community housing organisation on a fenced off site that includes three buildings, one of which is heritage listed and currently not being used.

Last week the South West Voice in Macarthur, which has been following their bid to establish a Campbelltown men’s shed, sat down for a chat with Kevan, Ian and Richard, along with Ted Myers, who introduced himself as a roustabout.

“We’re grateful that Hume gave us the site, and the lease on a short term basis,’’ says Ian Bennie.

“They have given us the opportunity to put our foot in the door. And that’s important – now it’s up to us to prove that we need to be here on a long term basis on a lease under our name only.’’

Hume are leasing the site, located on the corner of Badgally Road and Glenroy Drive, from the land owner, NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC).

“As a community housing provider, we pride ourselves on our purpose to create opportunities for people to prosper. Therefore, we are happy we have been able to support the Men’s Shed with use of Gatekeepers Cottage and the shed to run their meetings and activities, at no cost to them,’’ a spokesperson for Hume told the South West Voice.

“Hume have also covered the cost for the utilities used by the Men’s Shed from September 5, 2022.  

“The Men’s Shed were aware, when they took on the lease, that Hume were finishing up our current lease in January 2023 and were not renewing.

“The property is owned by LAHC and any new lease agreement will need to be negotiated with them,’’ the spokesperson said.

Campbelltown men’s shed is hardly off the ground, but that there is a need for it goes without saying.

It already has more than 20 members and the committee are confident many more will join, especially if they can secure the site on a long term basis.

“We have a good group of people here, and we just want to get it off the ground, clean it up, before we start in the workshop,’’ says Richard, another former Airds men’s shed member.

Local member Greg Warren, who knows how important a men’s shed is for those who participate, is a supporter of the Campbelltown men’s shed.

He dropped in a week earlier to have a chat with the men and discuss their situation, including the lease arrangements.

“We are Campbelltown based, not Claymore based, even though our site is technically in Claymore,’’ says president Ian Bennie.

“It’s the same if we had a site in Ingleburn, we’d still be Campbelltown based, which means our men’s shed is open to all men from the entire Campbelltown area.

“We are the first Campbelltown men’s shed and we are totally independent of any other group,’’ he said.

Kevin Harder chimes in to remind us that the bottom line of a men’s shed is that it’s good for retired men who would like to get out of the house now and again.

“For the men going to a men’s shed means they’re not getting bored to death at home,’’ he says.

“They can be here at the men’s shed being active, and also talk to other men.

“But the wives also like it.’’

New members can drop in at Campbelltown men’s shed for a day or five days a week.

“It’s entirely up to the individual, we do not put any pressure – you come whenever you can make it,’’ says Mr Bennie.

“We have one fellow whose wife is incapacitated, he comes for a couple of hours, then goes back to look after her.

“We don’t want to put any restrictions on individuals that they have got to be here for a certain time.’’

Contact the new men’s shed via email at campbelltownmensshed@gmail.com or phone Richard on 0404 897 852.