What the community did in Launceston.
It all began here, read how the community got involved.
What happened in Launnie
by Ben Hughes
In March 2011 I had a conversation with two men a the end of a business networking meeting, one of those men was David Peach. That was the beginning of The Men’s Table which first met on 1st May 2011.
Skip forward to June 2021 and myself and my partner moved to Launceston. We had always had a love affair with Tasmania and the fact that we knew friends who had moved to Launnie. For the previous ten years I had sat at a Men’s Table that included Roland Hanekroot and David Peach. We sat together and listened and shared around a table. We had become good friends and both Roland and David moved to Launceston with their partners. David became EO of Launceston Chamber of Commerce. In November 2021 passed away from pancreatic cancer. At that time is was discussed that a table in his honour could be put somewhere in Launceston.
I began talking to community builders in Launceston, they seemed to like the idea. I spoke to the Mayor, councillors, community connectors, local MPs and pretty much anybody who would listen, I got a great response. I found a great table designer in Rex Heathcote Rex produces the most amazing furniture and has been doing this all of his life. I met him in his Longford workshop and could tell straight away he was the man for the job. Thank you Design Tasmania for putting the word out. I wanted a basic table that could be made in most local communities and be recognised as people visited a place. Yes, the plan was already bigger than Launceston. The idea was hatching to have a Listening Table in every town in Tassie and then the world.
We found our spot, Brisbane Court in Central Launceston. A beautiful old courtyard slap bang in the middle of town. The council agreed it was a great spot and offered to install the table for free. Brisbane Court is a secure space where people come to meet and is surrounded by shops, coffee shops, restaurants and most of all great cafes and takeaway shops where people can grab a bite to eat.
Time moved on and I got very busy with The Men’s Table. Conversations were held with various community members and the idea was widely embraced. It is funny how sometimes time gives you the benefit of refining an idea. I felt not a lot was happening and yet the idea was busy coming together. I stepped out of The Men’s Table in April 2024 and took sometime out.
The importance of listening was coming together more and more for me. For years I had been using the quote “If you want to learn empathy, expose yourself to diversity” for years I was attributing wrongly to Steve Biddulph (Steve just happens to live near Launceston and is the author of many extraordinary books). It actually comes from Simon Sinek who is most famous for this amazing video “Start with Why” I used this quote because at The Men’s Table I got to listen to men who had very different experiences from me; listening to them I learnt empathy for men who had very life experiences to me. It broadened my life experiences and I got to have more understanding of men who had been in the services, men who were immigrants, gay men, men with children with disabilities, men who had a child suicide. When you properly sit and listen to people, they have the opportunity to tell you the most amazing stories. This gives you the opportunity to gain more empathy for them.
Next up I was introduced to the wonderful men at The Kings Meadow Men’s Shed. They were more than happy to help the community and build The Launnie Listening Table.
The story continues as we get the table built and community support starts to come together.
Watch this space.