The Tinkerage Dunmore

The Tinkerage RRA Dunmore

The Tinkerage: Where Repair Builds Confidence and Community

A broken chair, an old dolls house or even a chopstick can look very different when you start thinking about what else it could become.

That shift in thinking is part of what happens every week at The Tinkerage in Dunmore and Rockhampton, where people come together to learn practical skills, share ideas and give discarded materials another life. In FY26, The Tinkerage welcomed 1,455 visitors across the two sites, an increase of 82.6% on the previous year.

The Tinkerage Dunmore

Terry Selby - The Tinkerage Dunmore Participant and Volunteer

Dunmore local Terry Selby first came along with a friend around 2019 after seeing information about the workshop locally – she has been returning ever since. Now, she’s a Tinkerage volunteer, sharing her passion for upcycling with others in the community.

“The Tinkerage has really brought out the creative me that I didn’t know about, you can create whatever you want. The Tinkerage coordinators teach us the correct way to use tools and items.”

Terry Selby The Tinkerage Dunmore Participant and Volunteer

Over the years, Terry has restored wooden tables, mosaicked second-hand pots and transformed an old dolls house into a barn and entertainment centre complete with seating, a music area, bar and pool table. The project later won first prize at a local show.

In the past year, 658 people took part in Tinkerage Dunmore workshops, with repair and upcycling projects keeping around 1.2 tonnes of material out of landfill.

Some of the creative upcycling workshops run at the Tinkerage Dunmore

“Everyone that goes to The Tinkerage is creative and willing to help. We share ideas, talk about ideas and share items and ways to reuse. It has become a second home for me and a new family.”

One of her favourite memories came during a wooden planter workshop: “One lady asked me to just stay with her as she cut wood on a bandsaw. Which she did. Then she said, ‘I’m 75 years old and I’ve never touched a bandsaw till today.’ She was so proud of herself and rightly so. It was a wonderful feeling.”

Terry’s favourite Tinkerage transformation? The way she sees waste. “Sometimes I amaze myself with the uses I find for objects. I don’t see broken things anymore – just items that need a clean-up and to be reused.”