It’s serious men’s business in Alice Springs with opening of new Men’s Shed

MAKING feral turtle dove traps will be among the new initiatives on offer for the town’s gents following the official opening of the Alice Springs Men’s Shed on Saturday.

Ray Jones, Mal Crowley, Mick Coles and Hunter Murray at the opening of The Men's Shed in Alice Springs.

MAKING feral turtle dove traps will be among the new initiatives on offer for the town’s gents following the official opening of the Alice Springs Men’s Shed on Saturday.

Almost 200 people gathered at 47 Elder Street on Saturday to take part in the event.

“It’s about men being blokes and being part of our community,” president Mal Crowley told the crowd before a chain was cut and the building declared open.

Gary Green from the Australian Men’s Shed Association was first to notice the new facility’s unique lectern, made from a wheelie bin.

“This is real men’s shed territory,” Mr Green said.

“When you stand at a bin, with the lid raised and that’s your lectern for the day. That’s what happens in men’s sheds. Make do with what you’ve got.”

Secretary Hunter Murray summed up the day saying the “real work” started now.

“We’ve got to have managers in place to open up two or three times a week and get people qualified for the machines they want to work on,” Mr Murray said.

As for the sort of items that could now be built with the tools and manpower available, Mr Crowley had a few ideas up his sleeve.

“We want to get back to building bindi boxes and toys, and we’ll be making feral turtle dove traps and cane toad traps, just building stuff and fixing stuff,” he said.

Doing the opening honours with a pair of bolt cutters was Chief Minister Adam Giles who said the government would offer assistance to support the further purchase of tools.

“Men’s social and emotional wellbeing is often forgotten, and a break out zone is pretty good. Anything we can do to invest in people’s mental health early is a good thing,” Mr Giles said.