Men’s Shed future secured with new lease

The future of Broome Men’s Shed has been secured after the group was granted the lease to the old St John Ambulance centre.

After a long and tense wait, members finally received the outcome they were hoping for after the Shire of Broome approved their application last month.

The news was welcomed by BMS president Clive Johnson who said the Broome branch was facing potential closure unless they could find new premises.

BMS started five years ago and currently has about 30 members on its books.

For the past three years, BMS has been operating out of the Broome Community Recovery Centre which is used by other local organisations and groups.

However, Mr Johnson said the team had struggled to function in their limited surrounds as more members registered and community donations piled up.

“Our main challenge over there was the area wasn’t big enough,” Mr Johnson said.

“We grew that fast and as we were growing, the public donated that much stuff…we had five and a half containers full…we took over the veranda and the driveway.

“It was really getting us down because people would come and after a while they’d go because there wasn’t enough room to move.”

After receiving approval, the group has spent the past few weeks moving into their new spacious headquarters, located in Jones Place, which includes an expansive workshop, a kitchen, library, conference room, storage rooms and an outside undercover area.

The centre also comes with a 100ft aerial, which the team plans to put to good use.

“There’s been an interest in amateur radio so we’re going to put it out to the public to see if anybody’s interested.”

Mr Johnson said the facility would now be able to cater for the group’s needs and expected membership to soar.

“It’s happened at other sheds because it’s the largest growing organisation ever in Australia.”

Mr Johnson said the group planned to hold an open day and a mega sale in the near future.

Anyone interested in the radio project should call Mr Johnson on 0438 929 978.