Three Little Birds Stables was borne out of necessity, the carpenter father of three teenagers wanting to rebuild some sort of “man shed’’ escape from his busy household.
After starting work on the rebuild he and his wife decided to expand the facility and ended up hosting their first “event’’ in May last year — just before another lockdown — when they had Tongala’s footballers and netballers on their property for the club’s annual ball.
Since then they have hosted several events for family and friends events, including a couple of engagement parties.
“The ball 12 months ago was the first event,” Kristy said.
The stables were again the venue for the 2022 version of the football and netball club cocktail evening.
“We built this from a piece of concrete after the tornado blew through. Peter wanted to put a horse and calves in here,” Kristy said.
“The entire building is made from materials left from the shed that was blown over. Everything is recycled.”
The Birds plan to extend the burgeoning function centre by building a pergola and brewery.
Kristy’s passion for recycling made the project even more feasible. She manages an upcycling store in Echuca, HRJ Upcycling and event hire.
“We will open back up in the spring. At the moment it is only for people we know,” she said.
The couple’s three children were the inspiration for the venue name, along with the lyrics from Bob Marley’s famous song Don’t worry be Happy.
The three, Lucy, 18, Holly, 15, and Charlie, 14, all play with Tongala.
Peter arrived at Tongala as senior football coach in 2011, having played junior football at Echuca United, then with Bendigo Pioneers and Bombers, along with SANFL club West Adelaide.
He took the senior team from one win for the season to within sight of the finals and is proud of the fact the club has come so far since his brief tenure.
After coaching the senior team, he coached the reserves, along with C-grade and C-Reserve netball teams.
“There aren’t too many teams I haven’t coached. At the moment I am coaching the under-14 football (where son Charlie plays),” he said.
“I’m really happy to see how things are going now.”
Kristy is also involved, as a team manager.
“In the future we would love to offer people the chance to stage low-key weddings here. Somewhere they can come and have some fun, more for people that don’t want to spend a lot of money, but really want to enjoy themselves,” Peter said.
