Where men gather ... and the community benefits.
Lunches cooked by Shed members are a popular feature each Thursday.
Our goal is to provide an environment that embraces social inclusion, participation and community building. We also aim to support men's health by building self-esteen and giving members a practical way to give back to their local communities. We strive to provide an environment that:
• provides a venue for men to meet in a relaxed and creative space
• values mateship and builds a sense of belonging
• shares knowledge and skills
• allows men to feel useful, helping each other and the community
Our last big event was a Parkinson’s benefit concert at the Wentworth Park Sporting Complex on June 14. Five of our bands entertained the crowd and raised more than $8,000. A massive thank you to the venue and the sponsors who contributed to our raffle event: Souks Mediterranean, The Point Hotel, Doyle’s Physiotherapy, Blue Eye Dragon, Gallon Wine Bar, Officeworks (Glebe), Barzini, Porter Liquor (Pyrmont), Supamart ( Tramsheds), Chambers liquor store (Tramsheds), The Toxteth Hotel, Rise Fitness (Pyrmont), Woolworths (Pyrmont), Gasoline Pony (Marrickville), Kauri Foreshore Hotel, Broadway Centre Management and Wentworth Park Sporting Complex.
See below for upcoming events.
Woodworkers Antonio Avellaneda, David Daish and David Porter staff our stall at the Artisans Market.
Glebe Artisans Market – December 2, 10am – 3pm
We are regulars at the quarterly Artisans Market, held at Dr H.J. Foley Park in Glebe.
Aside from offering our woodworking products for sale, our various bands perform in the park.
Stop by for a chat, sit on the lawn for a listen and stroll around the park.
Aside from our creations, you’ll find handicrafts, jewellery, clothing, artworks and more.
For more information, visit the Artisans Market website.
Handcrafts
Nothing beats the hands-on joy of designing and making wooden products. Members are encouraged to have their own project.
Music
Members can relive old glories or begin anew, stimulating their minds and motor functions with various musical genres and styles.
Brain train
Members can keep their brains active in our book club and trying their hand at cards, playing Euchre or 500 (or solo or bridge)
Fine arts
Members with an artistic bent participate in group drawing sessions, memoir writing and a monthly book club.
Contact
Designated welfare officers contact members who have stopped attending or are ill to check on their wellbeing.
The PUG Men’s Shed strives to improve the local community with numerous events throughout the year.
The PUG Men’s Shed regularly contributes to community organisations. We’ve done everything from cook sausages for school fundraisers to use our woodworking skills to build street libraries.
As well:
• Each month, the Shed holds craft and music participation events for The Ella Centre (in Haberfield, NSW) to help people with disabilities.
• The PUG Shed provides wooden items for members of the Glebe Youth Services to paint with indigenous motifs.
• In 2022, the PUG bands organised and performed a fundraiser for victims of the Lismore floods. More than $6500 was raised and donated to the Red Cross.
Our wood workers can custom build anything from toys to cutting boards, from pizza peels to ballot boxes.
Put your wants and needs in our hands, and we’ll give you a solution. Sure, you can call us “mature”, we don’t mind. We have centuries of accumulated experience. We also have the tools and skills to build what you need. And, if you want, we can help you through the design process to deliver what you’re after. Incidentally, we are located at Jubilee Park in Glebe, and we approach our work with the calmness that befits our surrounds.
Our team
Nick Sangster
President
John Major
Vice President
Rob Farrar
Treasurer
Gary Doherty
Secretary
Ian Chapman
Committee Member
Tim Crozier
Committee Member
Nigel Barrett
Committee Member
History
The idea for a Pyrmont Men’s Shed emerged from a meeting between Peter Devoy, Bruce Napthali, Ian Avery and Uniting Church minister Robyn Davies.
Thomson Reuters Publishing staff in Pyrmont became involved as part of their contribution to the community. One of their staff designed the PUG logo. The Uniting Church NSW started a Shed at Lane Cove in 2007 and supported the creation of the PUG Men’s Shed, contributing $13,000 over three years.
We began as a group by working on the Kanangra ferry at the Sydney Heritage Fleet in Rozelle Bay in 2008. The CEO of the Sydney Heritage Fleet, Jon Simpson, gave us the use of a small workshop on the boat’s upper deck, and Shed members helped restore the woodwork on the ferry’s windows and doors.
Ten men attended the first AGM, which was held in the cabin of the Boomerang Yacht. The founding members who worked at the Kanangra Ferry in 2009 were Ross Brown, Phil Bryan, Tom Collins, David Daish, Peter Devoy, Ross Hindmarsh, John Kepski, Colin Knowles, George Kristen, Paul Limmer, Mok Shu, Bruce Napthali, David Porter, Paul Shea and Jon Simpson.
The PUG Men’s Shed joined the Australian Men’s Shed Association in 2013, and in 2014 the group moved to its current location in Glebe. In 2014 we were offered the two archways under the viaduct at Jubilee Park Glebe. The men who joined the Shed during our renovation and first year at the viaduct were Harold Adolphe, Chris Brown, Chris Durman, Malcolm Garder and Geof Graham.
Shed 1, which now serves as a practice area for musicians and hosts our weekly lunches, has undergone extensive work.
2015 saw us begin a transformation and diversification of the “The Shed”. Two recycled kitchens were blended to convert a cooking and storage area into the focus of various social activities, particular in the rejuvenated Shed 1.
Shed 2 was fitted out with woodworking equipment purchased with a range of grants. Among the larger items added are a table saw, drop saw, thicknesser and a floor standing drill press to name a few.
The Shed makes wooden items, mainly from recovered and recycled timber. Sales of wooden items forms a major part of the Shed’s income.
In Shed 1 Thursday lunches have become a weekly event in which members take turns cooking. Members are also encouraged to give talks before or after lunch about their careers and the interesting paths they took in life.
Today’s PUG Men’s Shed occupies two of the spaces (far left) that run beneath the Light Rail stop near Jubilee Park in Glebe.
Special interest groups such as the Photography and Sketch groups formed part of the new wave of activities offered to members.
Among these was a music group which sprang from Jorge Campano’s “learn Spanish Guitar” initiative into a jam session with Jorge on guitar, Harold Adolphe on percussion, Graeme Sobels on acoustic guitar, Richard Vickery on bass, Michael Hogan on harmonica and John Forest on ukulele.
The PUG Band grew out of Thursday Lunch becoming a Thursday jam session and a friendly pint at the pub afterwards.
A separate ukulele group originally under the direction of John Forest is now managed by Allan Lonnon.
Jorge established the Spanish Guitar, Rhythm and Percussion group/school.
Artist Ian Chapman runs a weekly drawing group for members who wish to pursue art.
Conrad Walters runs a fortnightly memoir-writing group so men can share their life stories.
This broadening of activities has tripled the shed’s membership.
In 2020 to 2022 several major items were added to Shed 2, including a central dust extraction system and air conditioning. Shed 1 has had a makeover too with a dishwasher, rationalisation of storage new shelving and carpet.
As of 2023, our 75 members enjoy a series of music groups, woodworking, a technology group, a book club and an online group of card players. It has also paved the way for other activities in the future.
