Community
31 January, 2025
Men’s Shed grateful for donation
TIMBER supplies at the Warrnambool Men’s Shed were given a boost last week with the arrival of a substantial amount of Tasmanian Oak courtesy of Warrnambool City Council.

The Warrnambool Men’s Shed begun around 19 years ago on its current site but in recent times has undergone a huge renovation.
“From about 2022 we started work on building our new shed,” long-time member Phil Pettingill said.
“We have just over 100 members and many of us were involved with its build. We had some wonderful support from local businesses throughout the build and now we’re looking at extending even further in the near future.
“We were fortunate to receive a state government grant of $80,00 towards the new shed and members also worked hard to raise additional funds.”
The shed isn’t just a home for those wanting to “call in and work with timber” it’s also become somewhat of a sanctuary for those looking for a social outlet.
“We don’t mind if men just want to call in for a chat, sit and have a cuppa and a biscuit and watch what we’re doing,” Phil said.
“You don’t have to get on the tools to be welcome at the shed.”
The arrival of the equivalent of two light truck loads of timber, courtesy of Warrnambool City Council, sent excitement through the shed late last week.
“This timber is very much appreciated and will be well utilised by our members on various projects,” Phil Pettingill said.
“It’s beautiful, rough sawn Tasmania Oak and it will come up beautifully once it goes through one of our machines – it will look brand new.
“The short pieces will be great for timber tops and the long lengths will be used to make picnic tables and a variety of other projects that our members are working on.
“We also make kits for the school holiday program at Flagstaff Hill.”
The timber was excess from the Val Bertrand Stadium renovations.
The stadium which pre-dates the Warrnambool Stadium complex on Caramut Road it has been incorporated into, is in the process of a flooring upgrade.
With the delivery of so many new floorboards and other construction items, they came with a lot of useful packaging timber which the men’s shed will also use in various projects.
While the old surface served the city well as a sports court or 35 years, the construction method used at the time meant that this material could not be salvaged.
The Val Bertrand Stadium flooring project is on-track to be completed by the end of February.