Objectives and delivery of the project

Pete's community Workshed provides a focal point where people from the socially disadvantaged and culturally isolated Bridgewater-Gagebrook area can learn the skills of woodwork and metalwork as well as simple and practical home maintenance skills.  In the process, experienced and capable co-ordinators provide friendly, informal and effective mentoring for "at risk" young people.

Benefits of the project to the Community

The Workshed grew from a chance meeting in a doctor's surgery between handyman and model maker Bill Griffiths and a local unemployed man.  As mutual respect and friendship grew, the young man discovered a new interest in woodworking skills.  The useful work and purposeful activity led to a new sense of direction and a greatly enhanced personal motivation.  Bill saw the potential for an extension of the activity with other people living in an area where unemployment is high and self-esteem is often low.  More people joined and, as a result, new working space was needed.

Bill approached Brighton Council who provided, free of charge, the use of a building that had housed the local fire station and in 2000, Pete's Community Workshed was born.  Initial funding to purchase tools, equipment and materials came from a Housing Tasmania grant and support from Brighton Rotary.  Soon after the Workshed was established, the Department of Education's Derwent Support Service requested assistance to involve a group of "at risk" young people in Pete's Workshed activities as part of their Work Place Mentor Program.

Since then other volunteers have joined the Workshed and the number of participants using the Workshed's facilities has grown.  There has also been a widening of the activities that the Workshed offers, as well as woodwork and metalwork, participants can learn straightforward home maintenance and repair skills such as changing tap washers, replacing cupboard hinges and fuses, clearing simple drain blockages and repairing motor mowers and bicycles.

Shed participants have made sturdy and functional outdoor furniture for Brighton Council, Housing Tasmania and local schools - seeing their work in use in local parks is a boost to personal self-esteem and local community pride.  One of the highlights of the work done in the Workshed has been the construction of the sets for Bridgewater High School's successful Rock Eisteddfod performances, which have twice won awards for Best Sets.  This cross fertilisation of activities into other areas of the community is a strong positive feature of the Workshed's work.

The Workshed is open to all interested people from Monday to Friday between the hours of 9.00 am. and 1.00 pm.  These hours were established to meet the needs of the many young single mothers who live in the area - the Workshed has become a friendly social gathering place in addition to the practical skills that young women learn there.

Pete's Community Workshed proves that a simple, practical and low-cost idea, based in the community and meeting needs by finding local solutions to local problems can have a remarkably positive impact on the lives of the participants.

Pete's Community Workshed is unique in that it was the first shed established in Tasmania and, probably, the greatest highlight in the Shed's history was the winning of the "Pride of Australia Medal" in the Mateship Category in August, 2006.