Moree Men's Shed finally has a new place to call home, with their new building officially opened on Friday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall attended the official opening along with members of Moree Men's Shed as well as visitors and contributors to the long project.
The concrete slab was laid in June this year, and the shed itself was constructed just a few weeks later, before being fitted out by local volunteers and now officially opened.
The men have been looking to relocated since July 2017, and now have had their wishes come true, with the new building more than double the size of the old one, which had lived through multiple floods.
The old shed also had no bathroom or kitchen facilities, or air-conditioning, all of which have been added to the new building.
Mr Marshall was thrilled to see it completed, after concerns it may never come since the desire of relocation had come to his attention.
"Obviously I was pretty determined right from the start to try and help out," Mr Marshall said.
"I must say, full credit for where everyone's got to today goes to Peter [Sampson], Col [Murray], people like Don Quast and others in the Men's Shed that have worked their absolute backsides off to get donations, to get plans in, to negotiate with council or whomever else or Crown Lands to get where we are today.
"I was absolutely thrilled to, in a way, come along for the ride and try and help where I could."
On top of the state government grant, more than $51,000 was also donated to Moree Men's Shed from the community.
"That says a lot for how the Men's Shed is regarded in the community and it says a hell of a lot about the strength and generosity of the Moree community and I really want to acknowledge that."
Moree Men's Shed member and project officer Col Murray wanted to thank all the volunteers and organisations that helped the new facility come to fruition.
He made particular mention of Crown Lands who were "outstanding" in all their help.
"Nothing was a problem. What couldn't be done just took an extra day," he said.
Mr Marshall reiterated Mr Murray's comments about Crown Lands
"They have bent over backwards to do everything they can to make sure this project happened, even to the point of helping right at the very end with hooking into some water which is critical," he said.
Mr Marshall said the new facility is the "gold standard" for Men's Sheds.
"I hope it attracts new members to the Men's Shed, but this is going to be here for decades and decades to come," he said.
"Each and every one of you - Peter, Col, the whole group - should be incredibly proud of what you've achieved.
"This is a great outcome for the Men's Shed but importantly it's really good for the Showground.
"To have this space of the Showground being used and have a great, new, wonderful facility that's going to bring lots more activity to the Showground right here, I think it's a really good result for everyone."
Moree Men's Shed president Peter Sampson gave a lot of credit to Mr Marshall for all his help in making the new shed a reality.
"Without you, none of this would have happened. Without your effort, none of this would have happened," Mr Sampson said.
