Max Wood - Leongatha

If you’re looking for a chap to lend a helping hand, Max is your man!

Originally a dairy farmer in Welshpool, Max can remember making cement bricks for the hall, pouring wheelbarrow loads of concrete for the Welshpool tennis courts, and putting hundreds of nails into the floor of the basketball stadium in Welshpool.

Raising five daughters with his late wife Rosemary didn’t stop Max from being involved in various committees including the Welshpool Hall, Welshpool Tennis Club, Port Welshpool Museum, and Welshpool Golf Club. His life in Welshpool was heavily rooted in volunteerism, like with the Welshpool CFA where he spent 39 years and as a boundary umpire, and later goal umpire for the Welshpool Football Club.

In 1989, Max and Rosemary retired from dairy farming and moved into Leongatha where Max quickly became involved in the community by joining the Woorayl Golf Club Committee, South Gippsland Golf Classic Committee and the Leongatha Men’s Shed where he is currently the President.

Max helped establish the Leongatha Men’s Shed in 2012. Men’s sheds have been and continue to be a great place for men to come together to have meaningful conversations, all while they share skills, enjoy activities, and a sneaky cuppa or two. Connection is important in organisations like this and the work they do for the community through their woodworking and other skills is phenomenal. Many of us have been the recipient of something created in a Men’s Shed.

Max was front-and-centre helping to raise funds for the new Leongatha Men’s Shed that was opened earlier this year. The members worked hard to raise $400,000 by selling their own products, having sausage sizzles, obtaining grants from Council and the State Government, as well as seeking donations from local businesses. 72 per cent of the cost of the new facilities was raised by the Men’s Shed themselves.

Max’s most recent achievements are made more spectacular by his limited mobility and loss of an eye during a car accident seven years ago that sadly took his wife of 52 years. After two months in hospital and rehabilitation, Max returned to his community – his men’s Shed and the Woorayl Golf Club. He is well loved and described as an inspiration.