Baldivis Men's Shed Origins

1993: Inception

As you may or may not know, the Men’s Shed movement was started in Australia in the town of Goolwa,  South of Adelaide in South Australia in 1993 and now boasts 1200 plus Sheds & has expanded into 12 countries with in excess of 2500 Men’s Sheds.  

In Australia, we have in excess of 60,000 participants in Men’s Sheds,

Whilst here in Western Australia, we have over 180 Men’s Sheds with 7000 shedders. 

The Men’s Shed movement is a powerful lobby group and the single biggest men’s support organization in the nation! You will probably already agree, that Men’s Sheds do, provide a very valuable addition to our social fabric.

1997-2021

The Baldivis Men’s Shed was initially started by members of the Rockingham Model Train Club who thought a Men’s Shed could be run under their umbrella, but it was found that a Men’s Shed must be autonomous, hence a new Men’s Shed was born in late 1997.  

Two of the train club members, namely Les Anderson (ex Airforce & teacher) and Rodney Woods (ex-jockey, taxi & truck driver) took it upon themselves to set up the new Men’s Shed.  Rodney had extensive experience, having established a successful Men’s Shed in Wundowie.  

This has proven to be harder to achieve than envisaged with several attempts made to obtain from the City of Rockingham, a suitable facility or land that could be utilised.  A Feasibility Study was carried out by CoR in July 2019, the end result was that the Temporary & Permanently Disabled Veterans site on Mandurah Road was identified as a solution to the Shed’s needs.  We were able initially to utilise a small Shed on this site. 

2021-2023

In Feb.2021 our local Minister, Mr Reece Whitby announced that the Government would provide a grant of $1mil for the construction of a Men’s Shed in the electorate of Baldivis.

More recently we have moved to larger premises in Sixty Eight Rd. which has been kindly provided rent free, by a local businessman in Port Kennedy. This has allowed us to use more of our equipment and has also meant we have gained more new members.

The BMS Management Committee has continually attempted to secure support from the City of Rockingham to provide a suitable site on which a Shed could be built. 

A second Feasibility Study carried out late in 2021  by the CoR provided the BMS with a choice of 9 sites that the CoR believed would be suitable. We ultimately selected the Fifty Road Sports Complex site but the final report which was handed to the CoR suggested a Community Building of approx.. 500sq mtrs. could be built, but this had no ability to expand as the need should arise.

At a Council meeting that followed, it was voted that the Council would not proceed any further with the Men’s Shed at this time, but in the next financial year (2023>2024) the CoR would allocate $150,000.00 to undertake a Master Plan of the Fifty Rd. site, including a large area East of Baldivis Road to establish how our Shed could be incorporated into an overall plan for that area. Unfortunately, this process could take more than 12 months.

Since its foundation, the BMS has provided a place for men to go & associate with others of a like mind, providing mateship & an outlet for their various skills with over 47 current members.

Anyone who feels that the BMS has something to offer them or a family member is encouraged to visit the BMS in the first instance before committing to the actual membership. We also welcome women to our Shed, acknowledging that they can provide an excellent balance to our structure.

2024- Present

In July.2024 our local Minister, Mr Reece Whitby was successful in convincing the Education Department to relinquish it tenure on a parcel of land it held in Pike Road Baldivis & transfer it to the City of Rockingham for the purpose of it being a site for the Baldivis Districts & Community Men’s Shed to be built.

In November 2024 the Council voted to :

1/ Approve the land for the development of the Baldivis Men’s Shed Site.

2/ Support the development of a 400 sq mtr pre-cast concrete Men’s Shed.

3/ To thank the Hon Reece Whitby MLA for the commitment of further funding.

We are now partnering with the City of Rockingham ,waiting on the final design drawings to be completed , which will include input from our Committee , & the tender process to be completed then awarded.