Brett Whiteley (Braddon, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Men's Sheds, as we all know, were created as places of support and fellowship for men of all ages and to create an area where men could learn about important health issues. Men's Sheds, however, have become known as much for their outstanding commitment to their local communities as for being a place for men to support each other. The Wynyard Community Men's Shed, in my electorate in the north-west coast of Tasmania, is one such shed.

In a wonderful demonstration of remembrance, the Wynyard men's shed has restored the overgrown, and in some cases lost, graves of stillborn and newborn babies from the 1920s and 1930s—finally bringing respect and dignity to these young ones. Undertaking this task was not easy. Sadly, many of the graves were unmarked and overgrown with no easy way to identify the children. Working together with the Wynyard Historical Society, and with the support of the Wynyard council, members of the Wynyard men's shed first had to map out the overgrown graves and connect the plot numbers with the names. Like the parents of these young ones, the men's shed was not in a financial position to buy tombstones. Instead, these men decided to use their skills to create wooden crosses and nameplates for each grave. These graves have also been cleaned and flowers have been placed on them. I am a proud member of the electorate of Braddon when men such as this do something as special as this, and I thank them for their efforts.