The Hawker Men’s Shed (HMS) was established in October 2019 and initially operated under an auspice agreement with Softball ACT. HMS become an independent incorporated association in 2023 and is a registered charity with Deductible Gift Recipient status.
The auspice agreement set aside space within the softball precinct for construction of suitable facilities for the operation of a Men’s Shed, a proposal agreed to by the ACT Government’s Sport and Recreation Department.
What started with a demountable and a single 20 foot shipping container has grown over the intervening years to encompass a purpose built meeting room attached to a dedicated workshop, three conjoined shipping containers as secondary workshops with a fourth for storage, a community / activities room plus a double garage and garden shed for extra storage.
The construction of these facilities, specifically the workshop and community room, have been achieved only through the support of industrious members and their fundraising activities, the ACT Government, Softball ACT and a very generous grant from The Snow Foundation.
From the outset, HMS has promoted core values of social inclusion for all – we were one of the first to actively welcome women as members to our ranks – by providing a relaxed and friendly environment, the opportunity to impart knowledge and learn new skills, applying them to participation in local community activities.
HMS is committed to the local community through the following projects and activities:
Hawker Community Repair and Made Local Markets (HCRC)
- Sponsored by the Capital Chemist Group, this quarterly event is our marquee community activity. We invite the public to bring household items for repair and refurbishment to be assessed by our dedicated team of repairers and volunteers. The concept is based on recycling wherever possible and to date, more than 2,000 items have been saved from going to landfill – an overall repair success rate of 88%.
Some of the more popular items submitted for repair include small furniture, household and workshop electrical items and appliances, textiles and garments, jewellery, leather items, toys, ornaments, bicycles, lawnmowers, garden tools and sharpening of a range of knives, workshop and garden tools.
- The growth in popularity of the repair cafes has been mirrored in the evolution of an accompanying market that highlights the work of local craftspeople. There are now over 30 Made Local market and information stalls that run alongside the repair cafes offering eco-friendly handmade gifts, home produce (jams/honey and some seasonal vegetables), artworks, jewellery, textiles, quilts, pottery, toys, garden ornaments/ sculptures, artisan soaps, perfumes, pre-loved tools, plants, books, puzzles, bric-a-brac and more.
In keeping with the recycling ethos, a local buy nothing group offers a free clothes exchange and other items.
In support of the market stalls, we have amongst other things:
- a jeweller / silversmith.
- a weaver making rugs and mats from old socks and T-shirts
- hand massages.
- the opportunity to make your own personalised perfumes.
- a seed saving stand on how to grow plants.
- a Justice of the Peace for witnessing documents.
- advice for Apple devices and software.
- an IT consultant for computer and sound device advice and repairs.
- Lids 4 Kids Hero Waste Warrior – Tub Swap and Go exchange for plastic bottle tops to recycle into outdoor furniture plus other tricky items for recycling.
- a used Electric Vehicle display with information and test drives.
Outback Grave Markers (OGM)
- HMS has recently welcomed OGM as a member. The organisation has its roots in Western Australia for researching and commemorating our ancestors through the identification of lost graves – particularly in a state with more than its fair share of old mining ghost towns and abandoned settlements. OGM manufactures a plaque with details of the deceased and the nature of their death which is suitably placed on site or in the near vicinity. These may represent lost graves in proximity to a known site where someone died. Plaques already produced in the capital region relate to people who died in the late 1800 to early 1900’s.
HMS is the only Men’s Shed in ACT/NSW involved in this project (which was an awards finalist at this year’s national men’s shed gathering in Brisbane).
Refer www.outbackgraves.org for further information.
Contact: Bob Quadling bob@outbackgraves.org
Other Projects and Activities:
The Shed assists in ground maintenance and volunteering at Softball ACT’s major events and carries out
small projects around their facility.
We assisted local artists and craftspeople with the successful hosting of a fundraising exhibition in May 2025 in association with the official opening ceremony for our recently completed workshop building. The event was also a thank you to our supporters for bringing the whole show (including facilities) to fruition.
We built and installed compost bins, garden beds and seed boxes for local area schools and a nursing home in partnership with Bunnings Belconnen.
We constructed the framework and facias for wicking beds for the Hawker Community Garden project.
We build to order bird and possum boxes to Wild Care specifications.
Completion of our facility has allowed expansion of the repair café concept, realising our aims of involvement and organization of more community projects and opening our facilities for possible use by other local groups. We engage with other community organisations and have held presentations for members including:
- ACT Red Cross.
- The ACT Public Trustee and Guardian.
- ACT Police – Family Violence Unit
- First Aid and CPR training and accreditation
- Hearing Australia
- Stroke Foundation
- Capital Region Community Services
- Bendigo Bank – banking safely online scam session
- Tender Funerals
- Vientia – approved NBN delivery partner for Canberra North fibre upgrade
- Used Electric Vehicle displays with information and test drives.
- Exercise Physiology Group – conducting weekly exercise sessions for members.
- Visits to other Men’s Sheds – more recently to the Wagga Men’s Shed which incorporated a presentation from the Amie St Clair Melanoma Foundation.
Our parent body, the Australian Men’s Shed Association (AMSA) is the peak body for over 1300 Men’s Sheds across Australia. AMSA provides the opportunity bi-annually for Sheds to nominate for their National Awards program. The latest was held in March 2026 where the HMS was selected as a finalist in two of four categories.
- Hawker’s repair cafe was a finalist in the Green Shed Award category and
- The OGM was a finalist for the Community Shed Award
Although unsuccessful, the fact that we were nominated as finalists was a wonderful acknowledgement of the skills and dedication of our members and supporters who have achieved so much in a very short time.