Caroline Hammat
It is hoped by the end of May the Millicent Men’s Shed will finally see their long term goal of a dedicated metal workshop up and running.
President of the Millicent Men’s Shed, Chris Mathias, was recently notified the group were successful in their Thriving Communities Program grant application.
The $30,000 comes from an additional $800,000 funding pool allocated by the Malinauskas state government through the Thriving Regions Fund.
An additional 21 projects have had their applications granted as a result of the extra funding.
Mr Mathias said they initially applied for the funding in July last year but they were denied the grant due a funding shortfall.
“At the beginning of February this year we received a message to say they had received more funding and asked if we would like to be reconsidered” he said.
“Straight away we sent a message back to say of course we would like to be considered.
“This $30,000 will be enough to buy all the other machinery we want.”
Mr Mathias said the group currently have about half of the machinery and tools needed to set up the workshop thanks to a generous donation from the South Australia Police (SAPOL).
“We already had a couple of welders and other metal working gear and then SAPOL donated welders, a plasma cutter, a metal cutoff saw, and a brand new bench top grinder plus some woodworking tools.”
The donated gear is from SAPOL’s recovered property which has remained unclaimed and is usually auctioned in Adelaide.
The metalworking workshop will be a valuable addition to the Men’s Shed which already boasts a well equipped woodwork workshop, a thriving garden and a place for men to catch up and chat.
Since June last year the Limestone Coast Model Railway Group, a subgroup of the Men’s Shed, have had their own dedicated space at the Fifth Street site.
