Paeroa MenzShed gears up for action

Tools will clatter at Paeroa MenzShed once a week after a raft of community support to spruce up the organisation’s space.
Vice chairman Alan Hughes told The Profile the sprucing by its members began in February after the organisation was given the use of an old shearing shed at Paeroa’s former racecourse by its developers Wayne and Chloe Wright.
“It had stages in it and part of the floor was a dead floor so we had to take the staging out and dig the floor out,” he said.
“We started digging it by hand but it was going to be a major job so we needed a contractor to do it so J A Lynch offered to do it for us.”
Alan said the spoil removal was paid for by J A Lynch Contractors and HG Leach & Co, and Wayne Wright also donated resources for the site.
“Corrie Leach rang me and said he would send a truck to lay gravel for us for a driveway, and they donated three trucks full of metal,” he said.
“Wayne then got a contractor to layer the concrete floor [inside the shed] for us at his expense.”
Alan said Paeora MenzShed members also applied themselves to weatherproof the shed, fix the doors and check the power and along with the wider community donated tools and equipment including workbenches, table saws and a spindle moulder. “It’s very pleasing, without the generosity we certainly wouldn’t be in the position we are now to look at making an open day at all,” he said.
Paeroa MenzShed held its first open day on October 13 and Alan said it planned to reopen each week on Thursdays between 9:30pm and 12:30pm. “Hopefully we get a good crowd of visitors that will come along and assist with anything they’re capable of or if anyone wants to come along and do something small themselves we can help them out with that too,” he said.
“MenzShed is a community place for not only males but also females to come and socialise and do projects for themselves or if there’s any community projects they want us to be involved with, they can do those things as well.”
Alan said dates and times for open days could change to cater for members’ availability.
For more information contact Alan Hughes, Ph 027 498 8872, or email paeroamenzhed@gmail.com.