New Tools and a Pandemic (2019-2020)
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New Capability: The Vertical Panel Saw
2019 brought a major equipment upgrade: a vertical panel saw, funded partly by a Federal Government grant ($6,000) and partly from the Shed’s own funds ($6,000), for a total spend of around $12,000. Commissioning it meant reorganising the Block A layout, including the wood lathe area, with an eye to safety and practicality as much as workflow.
Extending the Lunch Room and Office
After years of delay working through Council’s Development Application process — complicated at one point by a State Government restructure of Crown Lands and native title legislation — the Lunch Room and Office extension was completed in 2019, along with new kitchen vinyl flooring and a re-plumbed sink.
Finally Vacating Warrawee
For years the Shed had relied on a double garage attached to a Turramurra funeral parlour for overflow storage — originally intended as a proper storage annex before zoning issues scuttled that plan, it became a stopgap that lingered for a very long time. By 2019 the Shed had almost fully vacated the old Warrawee container; by the end of the following year, it was finally empty for good.
New Groups: Bush Care and Safety
The Block B extension’s Development Approval had come with an obligation to remediate for the loss of four trees, and out of that requirement grew something that outlasted the paperwork: a Bush Care Group, led by qualified bushcare trainer Bruce Donnelley, taking on planting, general maintenance and a great deal of weeding around the site. A Safety Committee was also established in 2019, laying groundwork that would matter more than anyone expected the following year.
Security at Last
After years on the wish list, a proper security system — alarm and CCTV, monitorable remotely — was finally commissioned by Brian Killin, with Tony Brown and a team of volunteers. Brian also upgraded the Shed’s phone and internet connections, including a new satellite dish on the roof.
COVID-19 Arrives
The 2019 Christmas season ended on a high note: the Cooking Group, under Max Elliot and Terry Tyler with tutors Dani and Idris, served up a Christmas lunch attended by the Mayor of Ku-ring-gai, Jennifer Anderson, who spoke about the Shed’s place in the community.
What followed was unlike anything the Shed had faced before. A brief closure in mid-November 2019 for bushfire risk turned out to be a rehearsal for something much longer: the Shed locked down on 23 March 2020 under COVID-19 restrictions and did not reopen until conditions allowed. The newly formed Safety Committee — Kevin Callinan, Mark Champion, Bob Lions and Hette Mollema — produced a COVID-19 Safety Plan, and Brian Killin built an online attendance booking system to keep numbers within the rules. The Cooking Group and seasonal barbeques were paused; the Bush Care Group, being outdoors, was one of the few activities able to continue.
Even through the restrictions, members kept working: around 850 bee boxes for Ku-ring-gai Council, Boccia slides for the Cerebral Palsy Association, and a batch of bird and rosella nesting boxes built specifically for the bushfire-ravaged Rosedale community. The Shed also made donations to the NSW & ACT Bushfire Recovery Fund and the Hornsby & Ku-ring-gai Women’s Shelter during the year — including a new dishwasher.