Many hands make light work of benches

A peaceful spot returned amid a community rebuilding with the presentation of two benches for Yarloop Christian Fellowship’s garden on March 2.

Harvey Men’s Shed member Douglas Bruce presented the gleaming outdoor seats to Pastor Bob Chapman which will be installed and anchored with cement in the garden in the coming weeks.

Mr Chapman said the church had already been restored and work was under way on the garden, with substantial help from the community, when Mr Bruce offered the shed’s services to build the benches.

Mr Bruce said he already had the bench ends and Yarloop resident Matthew Colebrook donated the wood for the project.

Mr Bruce said the ends required a lot of restoration work to remove rust.

“Then there were many hours of many hands on deck just dressing the timber,” he said.

Mr Chapman said the purpose of the bench and the garden was to provide a rest area for the whole Yarloop community.

“The purpose being we could sit outside in the shade, that people could come by in the community and if they wanted to sit outside under a nice shady tree they can,” he said.

“It’s basically for community restoration and encouragement that we do these things.”

Mr Bruce said he had worked as a trades teacher, including at Harvey Senior High School, and within the Harvey Men’s Shed there was a wealth of experience for such projects.

“Everybody in the shed has got some sort of speciality and whether they’re capable of hands on or not, they’ve got knowledge,” he said.