Dianella Men's Shed

08/04/2026

Eviction Update #3
After a massive cleanup effort the place is looking positively sparkling. All excess wood has been cleared away and we threw out about 3 - 4 tons of marginal stuff, old or excess tools, and assorted junk in a skip bin.

But at this point we are *still* not allowed to use the powered machinery. Mainly because the landlord doesn't accept the validity of our tagging certificate, but again, that's something that be fixed easily enough. We're also being asked to show proof that the roof has been fixed professionally. That's a little trickier because we're not sure if the last bout of leaks was fixed when we were in residence or if that happened before we occupied the building 10 years ago.

As far as relocation is concerned we've had further talks with the City of Stirling local government offices and have been given repeated verbal assurances that efforts are being made to find a suitable new location. In the meantime it has been put forward that we approach the nearby Men's Sheds and look into adopting membership at these places in the interim.

That has two dangers. One - That it would lead to the natural dissolution of the DMS as members drift away and become part of these new communities and secondly - that these alternate sheds might resent the sudden influx of "Shed Refugees". A third factor might be that the City of Stirling would then say "Well they've all moved on..." and then not be so enthusiastic about finding a new location for the DMS.

Our President; Geoff, has also been in contact with a local member of the State Parliament. This person was a significant force in the establishment of the DMS 10 years ago and has become somewhat alarmed at our forced eviction. He has said he will be meeting with the Maurice Zefert Retirement Home Board (who own our building) and their CEO, in separate meetings to determine the motivation and agenda of these two bodies. This State Representative has suggested that there is no valid reason that he can see for us to be evicted on such a rapid schedule and that we should have a few years to relocate compared to the few weeks that we have bene given. He feels there is something afoot that is not being said to all parties.

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28/03/2026

Eviction Update:

Well it's been a busy past few weeks as we try to save the Shed from being evicted from our current premises.

After emergency discussions with the landlords of the property and with help from representatives from the Men's Shed Association of Australia we were given a temporary stay of eviction subject to some agreements.

We have had to remove all excess wood stored near the building, which involved a massive clean out of a few tonnes of wood. Most was of the 'nice to keep but we have better' kind so while we offered other local Sheds to come and claim some of it, the vast majority went into a skip and was hauled away to be dumped. This was painful, but frankly something that had needed to be done for a while so the Shed grounds look better for it.

We also have to fit new smoke alarms and while there's been some debate about who pays for this, it's getting looked into and done.

We have some patches of black mould in the ceilings and after having the roof inspected it seems this can simply be cut out and patched as the original leaks have already been fixed earlier.

Meanwhile however, we have been banned from using any of the machinery until this is signed off by all parties so everyone's projects have come to a screeching halt. We really don't know at this point if we'll ever be able to work on the premises again.

Which brings us to the search for a new Shed location. We've contacted the local government who have expressed support and the local Shire Ward representative has promised to actively look into finding a new location for us. Mind you this is a politician's promise so take that how you will... On the other hand the local Shire *is* required to actively support the Men's Shed under their Community and Social Mental Health requirements so they can't legally simply ignore our requests and fail to act. The law doesn't specify how long they have to find us a new location however so they could take years if it so happens that way.

We are looking into new locations ourselves and have a few leads of potential places. The biggest problem is that being an inner city Men's Shed there's the problem of the neighbours. NIMBY-ism is a big factor as not everyone wants a noisy, dusty Men's Shed opposite their nice house.

So that's the State of Play at the moment. Things are still on hold and 'pending'. With all the work and changes done it still only gets us a potential 6 months in our current location before we're ousted anyway as there has been no agreement made for us to stay on until the redevelopment of the site begins in approx. 2 years time.

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28/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1Au9xZQbvV/

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08/03/2026

EVICTED!!

The Dianella Men's Shed has been given notice by the owners of the property that we use for our shed that we have 4 weeks to vacate the premises. This... after 10 years of benign and cooperative relations. The official reasons for the eviction could be regarded as 'spurious' at best. They are nothing that couldn't be addressed given a few weeks to comply.

Now we have a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2023 that says any discussion of redevelopment of the site should consider the DMS's needs and position plus it also says that we should be given 6 months notice of any Eviction.

It's not going to be easy to pack up a large number of industrial strength woodworking assets plus the voluminous amount of hand tools and assorted collected 'stuff' after 10 years, along with our large stash of wood.

That's assuming we have somewhere to go. Which we don't. We don't even have somewhere to store said assets while we find another place.

Finding another place isn't going to be easy as we are an inner-city Men's Shed. The local City Council has an obligation to find us another location within the Shire boundaries as we are an official Community Social group and part of the Mental Health scheme of the Shire. But they don't have to be quick about it. Other groups have had waiting times of 2+ years before finding a location. Meanwhile, where do we store all the equipment, and at what cost? (and can we afford this cost?)

There's a meeting of parties happening Tuesday, and representatives of the Men's Shed Association of Australia are flying in to lend a hand with legal positions and negotiations, but at this point... who knows *what* will happen..??

Updates will follow.

Meanwhile... anyone know of a place that we could relocate within the Perth inner suburbs around the Dianella - Bayswater - Bassendean - Yokine - Malaga - Inglewood neck of the woods?

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09/12/2025

Around the Shed... November 2025

30/11/2025

Latest toy. Only have to wax treat it now once the polyurethane has dried.

Dark wood is Jarrah from a demolished 100 year old staircase. Painted body is scrap pine from a building site.

17/10/2025

🛠 Beyond Tools in Malaga have their annual Wood Working event coming up on Fri 7th and Sat 8th November! 🛠

12/08/2025

Sean's been making more keepsake boxes. :)

Recycled floorboards of indeterminate wood. Maybe white oak...?

12/08/2025

Assorted completed projects.

Headset stands, a small clock and a toy helipcopter.

12/08/2025

We had an old work bench donated and at first it was a bit wobbly and loose.

Some new screws, tightening old bolts and some extra bracing now has it serving as our sanding bench outside on the porch verandah.