Things are moving quickly to establish our newly moved shed on it’s concrete pad. The move was carried out with the help of Mitre10 who kindly diverted their HIAB truck to the site and in less than an hour everything was in place. The next day the building was locked down to the pad with dynabolts and minor adjustments made.

The shed will be used to provide temporary storage for our overflow materials including a complete set of kitchen cupboards which will be installed in the shed later. This allowed us to return the now empty rented container. The new shed will then be converted into a dedicated woodturning area and fitting donated windows (from a member). Recladding and painting the exterior to match the other buildings will complete the refit. Our thanks go out primarily to John S for the monumental effort and determination in getting the job organized and delivered. The help he has had from a small team of helpers should also be recognized. Well Done to all!

More Great News :- We have also finalized the commitment to purchase a new kitset workshop which will be located on the site. This is a major investment and will provide metalworking activities, which we have been unable to accommodate until now. Although still several months away, it opens the door to a new membership of individuals who prefer working with metal rather than wood. We hope this will encourage new members to join us. We do have some metal working equipment already, for lathe work, welding and many hand tools used for these and other activities. These have been patiently awaiting the new building arrival, now on the horizon.

Community projects still come from a variety of sources. The helping of “injured animals” has taken front billing this last couple of weeks, with a “headless camel” being reunited with his head and a rather large giraffe having “ear surgery” to restore him to stereo sound (reattaching his ear!).

We have also repaired a wooden ladder which had seen better days and also completed a large number of holding crosses for Te Omanga Hospice thanks to Tony and Eainn. A complete set of gimlets and a rapping iron (used for weaving bamboo etc) was also made thanks to Keiron.

Work has started on a Lilliput Library and Community Pantry which is due to be completed later this month.

We would also like to reach out to all the Kindy’s in Upper Hutt to make them aware of what we do and how we may be able to help them. During this year we intend to be in contact with as many Kindy’s as we can, and provide help to at least some of them. We will have a team of “Kindy Champions” who can act as intermediaries and identify where and if we can assist.

If you have a project in mind and you think we can help, then feel free to contact us for a chat and we will do our best to assist you.

contactus@upperhuttmenzshed.kiwi

Don’t forget to visit our website for details on where we are and what we do.

You can visit it here:-

https://upperhuttmenzshed.kiwi

We are always on the lookout for new members and later this year we will have a metalworking facility. Maybe you have seen our display in the Mall which shows some of the things we do and who we do them for. If you have and would like more info, contact us for a free tour and meet the team.

contactus@upperhuttmenzshed.kiwi

If you want to join us, even for just a cup of tea and a yarn, pop in to see us, you will be more than welcome. Just come along @ 10am Tue to Fri. We are open 9 – 12 Tues to Fri. You will find us at McLeod Park just past the BMX track.

A “thank you” to Upper Hutt Menzshed for sending this article to The Upper Hutt Connection.

18/02/26