Over in Gippsland, there’s a music venue with a difference. It’s not a town hall or a band room at a pub. It’s a tin shed floating on a lake.
Built and run by Bernie and Ruth Ryan, the Paynesville Floating Tin Shed hosts free concerts from January to March each year, kicking off with a fireworks show on New Year’s Eve.
“[The performers have] got to be uplifting and they’ve got to be entertainers,” says Bernie. “It’s no good having the best singer in the world if they just sit there and don’t hold the audience.”
The goal is to bring some joy into people’s lives, so when Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme launched, Bernie and Ruth took note.
“We just thought it was a great opportunity to fundraise,” Bernie said. “We don’t have any directors or anything else taking out money – it all goes towards the entertainment.”
Since February this year, the pair have raised more than $10,000 through CDS Vic. Very impressive stuff.
“We’ll use it all this season and then we’ll start again and accumulate the funds for next season,” Ruth said.
Having built the tin shed himself, Bernie is very practically minded and handy. He’s built a collection point where he and Ruth can swap out hard-wearing garden waste bags as they fill up with containers.
From there, they get loaded into a trailer and taken into the Tambo Recycling Centre Depot, in Bairnsdale, once a week.
“We usually go on a Wednesday as Shane [the manager] has told us that’s the best time, and it does take us 40 minutes or an hour,” Ruth said. “[Shane’s] excellent, he’s unbelievable.”
For other groups considering starting up with CDS Vic, Bernie said to “just do it.”
“There’s a lot of work in it, it does take a bit of effort. Build those relationships with your local depot – they can really help.”
Bernie and Ruth have aimed to make it as easy as possible for people to donate containers with them, raising awareness on local social media pages and with an illuminated roadside sign as well as old-fashioned word of mouth. They’ve seen real enthusiasm from their community.
“It’s got better over this year, we’re educating people, so we don’t get as many wine bottles and milk bottles now,” Bernie said.
All for an excellent cause.
Want to know more?
- Bernie and Ruth’s New Year’s festivities will kick off with live music from 7pm on 31 December, and fireworks from 10pm
- Check out their website here for more information
- Head to our locations map to find your nearest refund point
