Rotary was a key force in the men’s shed movement.There are now more than 1,000 men’s sheds across Australia. This video premiered at the Rotary International Convention in Sydney, Australia.
Facts
- Men’s Sheds started in Australia back in the early 1990’s, possibly in Albury with the Albury Activities Centre later to become Albury Men’s Shed
- There are now more than 1000 men’s sheds around Australia, including 360 in Victoria.
- The Men’s Shed movement has spread around the world
- 130 Sheds in New Zealand
- 476 in the U.K.
- over 400 in Ireland
- Shed’s are also becoming popular in Europe with starts in Holland, Finland, Sweden, Spain, and Greece
- But slow to get started in North America
- 13 throughout U.S.A
- 14 in Canada
Coolum Men's Shed
Shoulder to Shoulder
The slogan for men’s sheds is “Shoulder To Shoulder”. This form was shortened from “Men don’t talk face to face, they talk shoulder to shoulder”, adopted after the 2008 Australian Men’s Shed Association (AMSA) conference.
Notably Irish
The first country in the Northern Hemisphere to have an association is Ireland, where the Irish Men’s Sheds Association was established in 2011 to support the development and sustainability of men’s sheds. The member Sheds of the Irish Association are from both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
One notable difference between the men’s sheds in Australia and Ireland is the age demographic of the participating men; in Ireland men of all ages participate while in Australia it is mostly retired men.
About Kilcoch Men's Shed, County Kildare, Ireland
Men's Shed Choir
Kilcock Community Men’s Shed (County Kildare, Ireland) has formed a choir and released this original song as well as an album of their favourites.