Community
22 January, 2025
Indigenous Men's Shed kicking goals in Mount Isa
The Ngukuthati Men's Shed is providing an essential service in the community.
When a shipping container load of bicycles were donated to the Ngukuthati Men’s Shed about a decade ago, there was obvious competition among young Indigenous kids over who would be presented with one of the much-coveted items.
It didn’t take long for the repaired bikes to create tensions among the kids in the city with some of the bikes getting regularly stolen from the intended owners.
Then one of the Men’s Shed members suggested painting the individual totem spiritual emblem of the owner on the bike.
There were plenty of paint cans around the shed as many of the members spent hours each week creating their own pieces of artwork.
Ngukuthati Men’s Shed mentorship coordinator Gary Hartman said painting the totems on each bike proved to be a game changer in the effort to curb thefts.
He told North West Weekly that the young people knew there would be spiritual repercussions for disrespecting the totem belonging to another and so generally stayed away from stealing those bikes.
“It stopped the kids taking each other’s bikes and the kids felt a bit of pride in having their totem on their bike,” Mr Hartman explained.
“The kids were also back pretty quickly because their chain had come off or there was a puncture in the tyre.
“We could then show them how to fix their own bike – we could hand down some practical skills. It become an opportunity for the kids to learn something also.”
The Men’s Shed still have a handful of bikes yet to find homes – but Mr Hartman estimates they have given away more than 500 bikes to local kids over the years.
It is this fusion of reverence for traditional Indigenous culture with practical handyman skills that has enabled the Ngukuthati Men’s Shed to become a positive gathering space for Indigenous men of all ages living in Mount Isa.
Tucked behind Ngukuthati Children and Family Centre in Pioneer, the unassuming shed is a hive of activity with a few dozen men regularly working on everything from their own passion projects, such as creating wire sculptures and didgeridoos, to helping single mothers in town with handyman jobs.
Mr Hartman was working as a groundsman at the childcare centre when he was asked to help start the men’s shed. He said there was a strong focus on sharing knowledge, with the men helping each other with various projects and encouraging younger members to be mentored by the older and more experienced men at the shed.
“We have had young guys come here and learn new skills – some have been able to go and use those skills and they have doing their apprenticeships now,” he said.
Bryan Davis-Escott was caught in the revolving door of the justice system for more than three decades, spending repeated years in and out of jail as he also struggled with substance use.
It was during a stint in a local rehab that the 61-year-old began attending the Men’s Shed regularly.
Now living in the Mount Isa community, Mr Escott-Davis attends the Men’s Shed a few times every week where he works on his artwork, which he sells to tourists during rodeo week.
He said the camaraderie of the shed has helped with his mental health and alcohol management, especially since being diagnosed with throat cancer.
“This place has been really good, it is somewhere to go to and do something positive, and it has helped me stay out of trouble,” he told North West Weekly.