SHRINKING space is threatening the Mt Eliza Men’s Shed’s survival, with low membership and limited government funding prompting urgent calls for a permanent new home.
Tucked away behind the Mt Eliza Country Club on Old Mornington Rd, the shed has struggled to attract new members since 2016 because of its cramped conditions. The shed is only 28sqm, which is not much bigger than a single-car garage, leaving little space for workshops, safe storage of tools and materials or social activities – the core of what their group offers.
Committee member Rod Wickes said members were doing the best they could, but it simply wasn’t enough to grow. “Potential members come along, and we’ve heard it before; they say, ‘Oh my shed at home is bigger than your shed so why would I bother joining you’,” he said, noting they only had 18 members. “Men’s Sheds are about mental health, but we can’t help many people.”
He said the shed was “chock-a-block” with donated materials as well as tools and equipment with nowhere to store it, some of which had to be kept off-site. “If it’s pouring rain, we can’t work outside which we mostly do and because we’re on private property we find it hard to get grants.”
Victorian Men’s Shed Association (VMSA) vice-chair Colin Proud said he completely empathised with the Mt Eliza Men’s Shed’s situation and would advocate in their search of a new home. He also noted the Mt Eliza Men’s Shed needed to secure a minimum five-year lease to be eligible for state grants as the shed only had a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mt Eliza Country Club to use their property. Proud said even if the shed had approval to expand or build a new shed, the VMSA’s annual funding pool was limited by the state government, which was shared among the 371 Men’s Sheds across the state.
Proud, also a peninsula local, said it didn’t necessarily matter if the shed was located on private or public land to apply for grants but “it’s not so easy without a lease”. “They’re sort of up against it each way you turn … we’d like for them to get into a bigger premises, of course,” he said, reiterating that men’s mental health was “a very big part” of what they do, not just timber projects.
Wickes said there was one space suggested by the Mornington Peninsula Shire at a site off Wooralla Drive, but this was located a distance away from the main road next to a railway line, which posed a risk to break-ins. It would also have required a new access road.
“There’s a couple of sites we liked but never came to any fruition. We’re trying to get an agreement with the country club which would allow us to extend our shed, but at the moment we don’t have a written agreement with them so that also means we can’t get Victorian Men’s Shed grants.”
Mornington Peninsula Shire councillor Stephen Batty voiced his strong support of the shed, acknowledging the vital role it played in the community. “Council are looking at alternatives, but there may be other private opportunities out there,” he said. “It (the Men’s Shed) provides a fantastic opportunity for those retired men, who are looking for community engagement and a bit of hands-on experience in manufacturing, putting things together for the community. “It would be a huge disappointment for it to be abandoned. If they haven’t got a facility, there’s not too many options.”
Members launched a GoFundMe two years ago with a goal of raising $35,000 to expand their current facility with $120 raised so far.
First published in the Mornington News – 24 June 2025
