Image: Supplied.
CONTRIBUTED BY CHRIS MAY, BAYSIDE WOODIES
The Bayside Woodturners and Woodcrafters Club, affectionately known as the Bayside Woodies, has planned a new building to replace the old Girl Guide Hut on its Council lease in Harman Street, Manly. The application for redevelopment has been lodged.
The club was established in 1989, and initially, members met in garages before taking over the present lease at Harman Reserve. The existing workshop buildings were added earlier this century to cater to membership growth, but more space is needed.
Bayside Woodies is known as a friendly and welcoming club catering to men and women over 14 years, with members practising wood turning, box making, musical instrument construction and restoration, pyrography, scroll saw work and toy making.
The club is active in the community, supporting district kindergartens with toys and other wooden activity pieces.
With over 165 members and growing, the club needs a new clubhouse and meeting room. The present hut is used for the library and some woodwork activities but is no longer suitable as a meeting area; it is old and has asbestos walls, so extending it is not possible. Presently, the workshop is used for meetings. This takes up valuable workspace and requires machinery, chairs, and tables to be constantly moved about.
Over the past 18 months, the committee and members have worked towards getting council approval for the new building. Council representatives have been involved from the beginning, and Councillors Alex Givney and Lisa Atwood have been hugely supportive of the venture. Local residents have also been consulted and are supportive.
The new building has been designed to blend in with existing houses and will have access for people with any mobility issues. It will be entirely environmentally friendly.
“It’s been a long time in the making with a group of members doing a lot of hard work. It will be a tremendous asset not only to the club and but also for the community and Council,” said club president Chris May. “The club is very hopeful of approval success. Once achieved, a building application will be lodged. Then the fun of fundraising begins, as it will cost $300,000-plus.”
The Bayside Woodturners and Woodcrafters Club is hosting an open day on November 16 from 10:00am to 3:30pm at its Harman Street, Manly clubhouse.
