Project Shed Provides Opportunities
The Rotary Project Shed is open every Wednesday and Saturday morning to those that wish to come along and clear their mind, use their time in a useful manner and all while making the world a better place, by being a part of an amazing international project.
The project really took off in August 1997, the week Princess Diana passed away, when we delivered the first 10 wheelchairs made from discarded bicycles to Fiji. It was televised on Ray Martin’s ‘A Current Affair’!)
Since then, our volunteers have made well over 11,400 of these ‘Rough Terrain’ wheelchairs. They have provided the gift of mobility to disabled and disadvantaged children in some 30 developing countries, primarily in South East Asia, the South Pacific and Africa. In addition, we have constructed multiple schools and other buildings in tsunami devastated regions.
But it is as much a Community Service project as it is International Service: Every week, our volunteers enjoy the fellowship and banter, while creating mobility for a disabled person in a disadvantaged society.
Why not join us? Click here
GET TO KNOW MEMBERS OF THE SHED
Our amazing volunteers come from a variety of different backgrounds, read on to get to know the people behind the project.
Meet our Volunteers: Bob Heffernan
By Kristen_Jewson |
If you heard just a few minutes about Bob’s work and business career, you could be forgiven if the term ‘Jack of All Trades’ springs to your mind. After all, over a lifetime of honest toil, he held such a wide variety of trades. But, looking at it a bit closer, you’ll learn that upon…
Meet our Volunteers: Brendan Aspery
By Kristen_Jewson |
How good is it to have another young volunteer helping at our wheelchair shed: Brendan is just 52 years old! Some 6 months ago, he and his charming wife Michelle relocated from Sydney to the Gold Coast. “Because I’ve always had a strong interest in “tinkering” (his words), restoring bicycles and vintage motorbikes, I saw…
Meet our Volunteers: Lionel Molloy
By Kristen_Jewson |
Some of our volunteers are “the quiet type” – Lionel Molloy fits that category admirably! Born in Blenheim, in New Zealand’s Marlborough wine region, he trained as a Cabinet Maker. But Australia beckoned… At age 20 he came across the ditch and… went shearing! This he did for some 20 years. During the off season,…
Meet our Volunteers: Nevil Tait
By Kristen_Jewson |
He is a true Queenslander! Born in Redbank (for those of you not familiar with the local geography: the suburb before Ipswich). He is the son of a local coal miner, graduated from Ipswich State High and proceeded to study Architecture at the Central Technical College (today, the Queensland University of Technology). “In those days,…
Meet our Volunteers: Paul Fullagar
By Kristen_Jewson |
Paul is one of our newest recruits who joined our wheelchair project team at Arundel only just last month, in October. Originally from the Northern Beaches of Sydney, Paul is a qualified Electrical Fitter and Mechanic by trade. He has worked in a variety of positions, ranging from ‘Housing Work Contractor, to Frequency Testing, Injection…
Meet our Volunteers: Peter Martin
By Kristen_Jewson |
“I went to about 6 different schools” Peter explained. No, not because he was one of those impossible kids who always get expelled! His father’s work as an earthmoving contractor simply demanded that they live where the big contracts were. Born in Thornton, North-East of Melbourne near Lake Eildon, the family ultimately settled in Shepparton…
Meet our Volunteers: Rick Parry
By Kristen_Jewson |
He might not be the longest-serving Associate Member at our project shed (he joined our team in 2021), but certainly Rick is one of our most active ones. But what a distinguished “pre-wheelchairs” career! “I joined the Navy Reserve in 1967 as a Radar Plotter (yes, the same guys they use in recruiting advertisements), and retired 51 years…
Meet our Volunteers: Terry Donovan
By Kristen_Jewson |
Often, one meets people, one walks past, says “G’day!”, perhaps have a brief yarn about… the weather. One doesn’t realise that the man with the generous smile before you has lived almost 30 years longer than originally expected. Come again?? Yes, Terry Donovan was just 50 years old, some 29 years ago, when he was…
Meet our Volunteers: Damian Knoll
By Kristen_Jewson |
Born in Sydney where he also met his wife, Damian and his wife moved to the Gold Coast in their thirties. All his three children were born here; one of his daughters is a Bio Scientist, his son is in Real Estate and the youngest daughter is in her prep year. Regrettably, they later decided…
Meet Our Volunteers – Bill
By Kristen_Jewson |
Bill, the shed mascot, builds moral, and helps you finish of your morning tea when you can’t finish that last bite. He’ll greet you, and accept as many pats as you’re willing to give him.
Meet our Volunteers – Ray Drowley
By Kristen_Jewson |
Picture in your mind a typical Australian farmer. What do you see? Probably same as me: at least 6 ½ foot tall (that’s about 195 cm for those among you who have forgotten imperial measurements), the physique of a Half Back, a bit taciturn, can go for hours without saying a word… OK, those of…
Meet our Volunteers – Bryan Tuesley
By Kristen_Jewson |
‘A genie gives you a single wish. What is it?’ is one of my standard questions when I interview somebody. Bryan, who is sort of Volunteer ‘Foreman’ at our project shed, answered without hesitation: “To regain my health”, which underscores his valiant health battle. The permanent illness, which affects his nervous system, was…
Meet our Volunteers – Bryan Mitchell
By Kristen_Jewson |
“When I watch sports, I always go with the underdog” Brian admitted when I asked him about his sports preferences. “Except when Dundee United is playing, of course…” OK, so true Scotsmen don’t easily show their emotions. But I could imagine that Brian’s eyes would light up when he hears his team’s song…