Members call it a gentlemen’s club without a liquor license – but Men’s Shed Whangārei is more than just a place for gents to meet.

“It’s about mental health for men,” committee member Murray Fell explained.

Being one of the longest-running men’s sheds in the country, the Whangārei group has gone from meeting once a week in the public library, then setting up shop at a boxing club to working out of a stunning historic building, the Whangarei Railway Station.

With up to 100 members on their books, the place is buzzing three times a week – Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Screeching saws, humming lathes and the rhythmic scratching of the sandpaper on wood are the sounds of men socialising and doing something good for the community and environment.

Their workmanship includes fixing old women’s chairs, crafting mud kitchens for daycares and everything in between – building coffins, bookcases, Christmas toys, picture frames and more.

There is also a dedicated team of men who produce around 300 traps a month – a significant contribution to Northland’s conservation efforts which has been recognised in this year’s Whakamānawa ā Taiao Environmental Awards by the Northland Regional Council.

Even if there are no new jobs on the calendar, there is “always somebody in the wings wanting to do something,” Fell said.

He said men’s shed was a dynamic, social group full of men from their 30s to high 90s who enjoy good cake and don’t mind lending a helping hand where needed. There was also space to work on their own projects.

“The theme is around mental wellbeing for men. We’re here for those men whose wives want them out of the house and we all have a positive attitude towards volunteering,” Fell said.

Other men’s shed ventures include day trips to museums across the region or other places of interest along with playing games and exercising together, and there are currently talks about putting on a theatre show.

Fell stressed that their group wasn’t cliquey: “Rich or poor, we all work together here. It’s about being nice and having fun together.”

Keeping their workshop, the railway station, in good nick is also on the to-do list. Nine years ago, the group moved into the premises and spent two years refurbishing the place.

“It was a rabbit warren when we moved in,” Bob Mossman, one of the longest-standing members said.

Today, all rooms are done up, old machinery and tools replaced and the historic station is alive again.

For the future, the men’s shed crew hope to run weekend events so those with weekday commitments can also join and plans to get women into the workshop are also being discussed.

• For information or to join the club, phone 09 435 1759 or chairman@mensshed.co.nz. No woodworking experience needed.