Hidden behind homes in towns across Australia are secret places of refuge where their owners retreat to play pinball machines, tinker with tools and pour drinks from private bars.
Gold Logie winner Scott Cam – who admits he has had more fun in his own sheds than in a honeymoon suite – went looking for the country’s most impressive man caves and was amazed by what he found.
‘There are thousands of people around with a love of sheds like me, and plenty of their sheds are better than mine,’ he says. ‘So, why not run a competition to find the 20 best ones, and whack ’em in a book for all to see?’
The result is Scotty’s Top Aussie Sheds which includes The Block host’s pick of his favourite sheds from around Australia.
There are working sheds kitted out with a Bunnings-like array of tools. There are car workshops with polished concrete floors. There are games rooms with pinball machines and pool tables. There are even private pubs with well-stocked bars.
Leeky’s Pub was built inside a shed on a three-quarter acre block in Churchill, Victoria, 12 years ago and gets used every day
Yok’s shed at Aberdare in the NSW Hunter Valley features an old bar he found at the back of the Royal Oak Hotel in Cessnock
Thomo’s Shed in Bayswater North, Victoria, features a couch, table and chairs as well as racing and football memorabilia
Gringo’s Man Cave at Mount Barker, north of Adelaide, began as a working shed with a bench and space to restore cars
This is an edited extract from Scotty’s Top Aussie Sheds by Scott Cam with photography by Maya Vidulich:
THE TOOL SHED
Owner: Mick
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Mick built his shed around old 13-metre long trusses he got from a building site. A mechanic by trade, who’s owned his own professional workshop for 22 years, Mick wanted a social workshop with a country-style bar to relax at. Once he got the permit, Mick and some tradies quickly built the brick walls and side-room wooden structure, along with two magnificent wooden doors.
Mick wanted a social workshop with a country-style bar to relax at; the brick building features magnificent wooden doors
Mechanic Mick describes his shed in Melbourne as ‘a religious temple for beer’; it features a a hoist so he can work on cars
Set on a couple of acres, Mick’s giant shed is ‘a religious temple for beer’ – a place for him to work on his cars and to keep his three adult sons busy and at home with their friends, instead of going out.
Sitting on the bar in prime spot is a beautiful old cash register, purchased from an antique shop, a treasured item of Mick’s. There’s also a double-sided fireplace made from 8000 bricks – one side’s in the shed, the other’s in a wooden side room – it’s a real focal point for entertainment. There’s also a full size pool table down the back, with bar chairs and tables.
Friends usually gather to watch the telly during sporting events, play pool or sit around the fire and have beer. The Tool Shed also has a toilet, shower and laundry, with a plan to convert the loft into an accommodation area.
Mick built his shed around trusses he got from an old building site; the mechanic has run his own workshop for 22 years
A focal point of Mick’s shed is a double-sided fireplace made from 8000 bricks – one half in the shed, the other in a side room
THE MAN CAVE
Owner: John, better known as Gringo
Location: Mount Barker, South Australia
The inside of Gringo’s 15-year-old shed in Mount Barker, north of Adelaide, is fully insulated and lined with rusty corrugated iron. He’s also in the process of removing all the metal beams and replacing them with timber to add ‘an old barn’ look. Originally, it had been a working shed with a workbench and two cars that Gringo loved spending time restoring. A second shed was built to house these and then the Man Cave was born.
The first item in Gringo’s shed was his beer fridge, an engagement present from his mum; now he has a fully-stocked bar
Gringo’s Man Cave has become a dedicated games room over the past 10 years, playing host to competitive pool games
Gringo’s Man Cave is a place for relaxation and fun, and includes a fully-fledged bar. In the last 10 years the Man Cave has also become a dedicated games room. Some fierce competitions at the pool table or the darts board always add to a great time.
Gringo loves sitting quietly in his shed with his cat, or opening it up to family, friends and neighbours to have a chat and a beer. He says: ‘I enjoy having a beer at the bar after a hard day’s work, drinking a beer at the bar after an easy day’s work, watching the V8 Supercars with a beer, watching the footy or cricket with a beer, watching Moto GP with a beer, playing pool or playing darts with a beer in hand, and listening to music with a beer.’
The first item in Gringo’s shed was his beer fridge. ‘It’s where it all started,’ he says, an engagement present from his mum. ‘Everyone knows to help yourself to the fridge.’ His beer and car-related items and memorabilia followed.
Gringo loves sitting quietly in his shed with his cat, or opening it up to family, friends and neighbours to have a quiet beer
LEEKY’S PUB
Owner: Paul, better known as Leeky
Location: Churchill, Victoria
The outside of Leeky’s Pub, on a three-quarter acre block in Churchill, is a modern Colorbond structure, but inside it’s a completely different story. There, he’s created a rustic vintage effect using second-hand fence palings and corrugated iron for the walls.
Leeky says the rustic bar in his man cave was the first feature to be built: ‘Everything else in the shed has grown around that’
Leeky has some very cool stools around the bar with Harley Davidson seats; the old rustic look includes corrugated iron
Leeky built his shed 12 years ago and uses it 24/7. It’s a haven for his wife and him every Friday night when they sit at the bar, listening to music, having a parma dinner and a beer. It’s also a great party place for his kids, and a Sunday afternoon or evening drop-in and relaxing space for his mates. ‘I can’t get rid of them,’ Leeky says. They just want to stay.’
The bar was the first feature to be built. ‘Everything else is the shed has grown around that,’ he says, including some very cool stools around the bar with Harley Davidson seats. The old rustic look is included in the bar with corrugated iron, old nuts and bolts, and a vintage sink.
Leeky’s pub features a Pac-Man arcade game, pinball machine, pool table, flat-screen TV and a Golden Fleece petrol bowser
THE SHED
Owner: Richard, better known as Yok
Location: Aberdare, New South Wales
Yok bought an old Federation house 21 years ago. It had a giant old corrugated and fibro shed in the backyard with a high roof, no floor and an upstairs section that could sleep 20 people. The previous owner had a bus run and he used it to house two buses. After Yok moved in he converted the shed into a furniture restoration workshop and a party place. ‘Everybody in Cessnock and the Hunter Valley knows it as “The Shed”,’ Yok says. ‘A lot of people have partied here over the years.’
Yok bought an old Federation house with a giant corrugated and fibro shed in the backyard at Aberdare in the Hunter Valley
With his multi skills as a woodworker, commercial painter and muso, he spends a lot of time creating or socialising in the shed, which he refers to as ‘Clown Headquarters’ – a nod to a treasured clown’s head light ornament that sits above the piano. He’s added a pool room with a pool – and card – table at one end, and off to the side a barbecue and beer garden where he often has a solo singer down of a Saturday or Sunday afternoon for all to enjoy. He also holds a Christmas show every year with up to 150 people and a few live bands. ‘I don’t have to invite anyone,’ Yok says. ‘People just turn up.’
After Yok moved in to his Aberdare property he converted the shed into a furniture restoration workshop and a party place
Yok’s most treasured piece in his shed is a 1904 bandsaw that he got out of a backyard in nearby Kurri Kurri. A great mate who has now passed away made the guard for it, and it sits on display behind the ‘Bandsaw Bar’. It’s in good working condition and Yok uses it all the time. He also loves the old bar that he found at the back of a storeroom in the Royal Oak Hotel in Cessnock. ‘I resurrected it from nothing,’ he says. ‘It was pretty ratty and all covered over with veneer. I figured it was something nice under the veneer. I have a pretty good eye for stuff like that.’
An old antique red tram hangs in the shed and there’s also a swing – a real hit at parties. Yok made a carved wooden coffin for his real estate agent mate’s cat. In return, this mate had been on the lookout for a suitable property for Yok and found the house when it came up for sale. He’d described the shed in the backyard as so huge that ‘I could even have a big swing in it,’ Yok recalls. So Yok bought the place and put a swing in the shed. ‘My shed means everything to me.’
‘Thomas the combustion heater’ was built by Yok and his boiler maker brother: ‘This is the lifeblood of the place in winter’
A lot of people have partied here over the years,’ says Yok of his shed, complete with swing seat, pool table, piano and bar
THOMO’S SHED
Owner: Adam Forster and Naomi Thompson
Location: Bayswater North, Victoria
Thomo’s Shed used to belong to Naomi’s late first husband. Adam and Thomo had worked together as forklift drivers in a trucking company where Thomo had been Adam’s boss. They’d also been friends. The two of them had spent a lot of time in the shed with some other mates, especially when Thomo became sick, before he passed away. It was a tough time. Six months before Thomo died, Adam’s first wife also sadly passed away.
Adam Forster (pictured) and Naomi Thompson own Thomo’s Shed, which was built in by Naomi’s late husband in 2009
Thomo had built the shed in 2009, only a year before he got sick. His love of boats, cars and hotrods had inspired him to create his own workshop shed – a home away from home. Doing up a 1928 Ford Roadster hotrod was his first major project. ‘Now Adam carries it forward to finish what Thomo started,’ says Naomi. As Adam is not mechanically minded, Thomo’s hotrod club mates have been there to guide him.
Two of Thomo’s most treasured items in the shed had been the Ford sign that sits above the toolboxes and the spectacular chequered floor (both hand-painted by Thomo and Naomi), and his Melbourne club memorabilia – his favourite AFL team. He’s also been very proud of his car hoist and, of course, his hotrod. Adam has now added his own little touches to Thomo’s Shed – a stereo, his cockatoo outside and, in a friendly rivalry, his Collingwood club memorabilia.
Two of Thomo’s most treasured features in his shed were the Ford sign above the toolboxes and the chequered black floor
Thomo’s Shed in Bayswater North, Victoria, was built in 2009, inspired by Thomo’s love of boats, hotrods and other cars
THE SHED
Owner: Jim
Location: Oxley, Victoria
Jim describes his shed as ‘a monument to the old man.’ His dad and uncle, both small-time local bridge builders, had constructed it in the early 1950s as a place to house their machinery.
It’s an old-style shed with great character, including corrugated iron and old wooden beam trusses on the inside roof. ‘There’s nothing flash about it, mate,’ Jim says. ‘It’s sturdy, but I have to keep screwing tin down.’
Jim loves to use his shed as a getaway – a quiet and peaceful space for just sitting and relaxing or playing his guitar. It’s also Jim’s workshop and a place to keep his dad’s old treasures and memorabilia.
Jim, from Oxley, in Victoria, uses his shed as a workshop and a place to keep his late father’s old treasures and memorabilia
‘There’s nothing flash about it, mate,’ Jim says of his workshop cum studio; ‘It’s sturdy, but I have to keep screwing tin down’
Scotty’s Top Aussie Sheds by Scott Cam is published by Murdoch Books, with a recommended retail price of $35
THE BAT CAVE
Owner: Peter, better known as Skete
Location: Lockwood South, Victoria
Skete’s Bat Cave is a 7 x 4 metre room that is part of a bigger shed – similar to a machinery shed – on a 7 acre property in Lockwood South, near Bendigo.
The Bat Cave is a room solely dedicated to Skete’s cricket memorabilia. Skete started his collection in the early 1980s, inspired by Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket era the decade before. The first items were trinket-style things like little white bats, badges and posters. Then he started his now-brilliant bat collection with two very special ones – a Keith Miller bat and a Don Bradman bat.
Cricket tragic Skete began collecting cricket memorabilia in the early 1980s, inspired by Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket
Skete’s shed in Lockwood, Victoria, holds his collection of cricket memorabilia including bats, gloves, bags, caps and boots
‘When I got the two bats, that’s what kick-started the bat collection,’ he says. Skete now has 177 bats on display in the Bat Cave, all in cabinets he built himself except for one glass-door cabinet he had brought in.
The Bat Cave is also a great place to sit back and relax. Skete’s got a bar, a telly, a heater and armchairs, where he watches the cricket and The Footy Show.
These days, Skete has become more fussy with his purchases. He’s focused on collecting signature series captain’s bats, where their name is stamped on the bat, and has set up a captains’ corner in the Bat Cave. ‘From Don Bradman up, I’m only missing a couple,’ Skete says. ‘I bought a Michael Clarke bat not long ago.’
Skete’s cricket bat collection began with two and now numbers 177; he keeps his collection in a shed called the Bat Cave
Scotty’s Top Aussie Sheds by Scott Cam (Murdoch Books RRP $35) photography by Maya Vidulich.