Men's shed in old Victorian logging town now 'anyone's shed' as it champions inclusivity
That is, unless, you're in the old logging town of Forrest in Victoria, where the shed might be for men in name, but has opened its doors to welcome others in the community.
One of those people is Noor Petersen.
Noor, who converted to Islam after a transformational trip to Indonesia in her late 30s, and her husband Nasser, an Egyptian geologist, moved to the area after living in the Middle East.
Even before they arrived in Forrest, Noor's son had some reservations about the pair's choice of retirement spot.
"He said 'You'll be in redneck country ... and you'll be the only Muslims'," Noor recalled.
But they were undeterred and quickly settled into regional life together.
Despite being a "total academic" who had never held a hammer, Noor said Nasser joined the Forrest Men's Shed.
"Nasser, [with] his love and newfound interest in the men's shed, learned to do all these skills," Noor told ABC iview's Back Roads.
"It was his real play space."
When Nasser died in 2023, Noor said she was drawn to the shed, despite it being, as she described, "blokey".
"It just sort of morphed into me coming in," she said.
"First of all, I asked the guys, 'I need to know how to do the band saw, how to do the drop saw, how to do the table saw'.
"And it was a big like, 'Hmm…' and no-one would come offering.
"It was, 'Is she real?' Eventually, [someone] did and I've had fun ever since."
Noor now describes the space as "anyone's shed".
That label also rings true for Zoe Thomsen, the vice president of the men's shed.
"Everyone in the community has been really supportive, so it hasn't really been an issue.
"And these guys [in the men's shed] haven't really batted an eyelid."
While she's been pleasantly surprised by the support, Zoe said she was anxious about going public with her transition.
"I was terrified ... this is an old logging community," she said.
"I thought I was going to be run out of town and crucified, and that sort of thing, but they've all been really good.
"Everyone's been really sweet ... especially at the men's shed.
"I couldn't imagine any men's shed being like this one here."
More and more though, sheds are adopting models like Forrest and opening their doors to the wider community, both to meet demand and ensure the sheds' survival.
President of the Forrest Men's Shed, Allan Winter, was one of the "five blokes at the pub" who originally set it up.
He said while it started out as a place for men in the community to spend time together and do activities, it quickly became more inclusive.
"Pretty soon after we got kitted up with some handy tools, some of the women started looking over our shoulder and saying 'We wouldn't mind having a go at that'," he said.
"We said 'Sure have a go of it!'
Allan said that as well as Zoe in the vice president role, before him, a woman was in the role as president, highlighting that inclusivity went all the way to the top.
Stream the new season of Back Roads free on ABC iview or watch Thursdays at 8pm on ABC TV.
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