Push for community men’s shed in Katherine

The men’s shed movement has taken off across Australia and the club reckons it is now Katherine’s turn.

The men’s, or community sheds are now established as part of the health infrastructure that supports programs to improve men's health and well being.

A club spokesman said over the past 30 years the Katherine Rotary Club had cooked, manned, built, aided and generally been a service club to help the community.

“We have raised money through small ventures eg BBQs and huge ventures such as the Triple000 Show.  One of our biggest successes was the establishment and funding of the Cancer Information Office in the Government Centre.

“The jewel in our crown is the Rotary Family Fun Park built many years ago by Rotarians with vision. The Park is a fantastic place for families, for parties and for community gatherings. It has an 18 hole mini golf course, structures for kids to play on, cooking facilities and a covered sitting area. We also have an excellent air conditioned meeting room that can seat up to 20 people. It has a screen, chairs and a kitchenette area. Both of these facilities can be hired out.”

The Katherine club said it also had an area which was also have an area that is highly under-utilised and it could be used as a community shed.

“Community sheds/mens sheds are spring up all over the place and Katherine really could benefit from one. So we thought we would offer this space for that use,” the spokesman said.

A committee of interested people is meeting at 5pm on December 16 to plan out a strategy to kick start planning.

“We are hoping any interested people will come along to the Rotary Family Fun Park (next to Clyde Fenton Pre School) on Wednesday, December 13 at  5pm,” the spokesman said.

With the establishment of a community shed in Katherine, the club hopes it will: