Cairns women's shed opens as sector ponders its future

Australia Broadcast Center

25-07-2025

Men's sheds outnumber McDonald's restaurants in Australia.
While the fast food giant has about1,000 stores, more than 1,200 men's sheds have sprung up across the country since the first one opened its doors in Goolwa, South Australia, in the 1990s.
For three decades, they've offered blokes a place to do craftwork "shoulder to shoulder", as the organisation's motto goes, and shone a much-needed spotlight on men's mental health issues.
They now serve more than 50,000 members or "shedders", but with an ageing cohort and more groups in society calling for their own sheds, there are questions around how the movement will evolve.
Ever since Wendy Bryant's father helped set up the Cairns Men's Shed in the 2000s, she thought the city's women should have something similar too.
Almost 20 years on, Ms Bryant on Friday cut the ribbon at Far North Queensland's first women's shed — She Shed Cairns — which her family's construction company and dozens of local businesses and volunteers helped build.
The 68-year-old was a keen potter before a degenerative brain disease curtailed her hobby.
She is now looking forward to enjoying other crafty pursuits and companionship at the shed with the help of her carer.
Ms Bryant's story resonated with She Shed Cairns founder Jane Mitchell, who knew two young mums who suffered debilitating strokes in their 30s and 40s and saw how crafting helped them find some joy and purpose again.
"But a nice space to come and connect with other women was really missing," Ms Mitchell said.
The new Cairns shed joins more than 60 women's sheds throughout Australia.
The founder of a Perth-based women's shed, Michelle Slater, began the process of forming the Australian Women's Shed Association (AWSA) 18 months ago to give female shedders a national voice.
"We have a constitution drafted, I have a board waiting to go, we're literally just after that initial seed funding to launch," she said.
Ms Slater said securing a space and funding were significant challenges for individual women's sheds.
While they can access some state-based funding, they are not eligible for $1 million in annual grants under the federal government's National Shed Development Program.
The federal health department said the program was specifically tied to its National Men's Health Strategy to address higher rates of loneliness and isolation experienced by older men.
But AWSA said women's sheds deserved their own dedicated funding.
Gender exclusivity has long been the basis upon which men's sheds were founded and a major reason for their success and proliferation.
But gender integration is occurring to varying degrees in some locations, from men's sheds that have "ladies" or mixed days to community sheds that are gender-inclusive, such as the one in Coburg, Victoria.
The Australian Men's Shed Association (AMSA) has also been supporting emerging women's sheds with advice and sharing insurance and manuals.
AMSA executive officer David Helmers said there were many benefits to diversifying the shed movement, such as sharing costs and resources and attracting new members.
"I think where there is a bit of pushback is at an individual level," he said.
Mr Helmers said retaining gender-exclusive spaces was still important for many communities.
"We acknowledge we don't want men's sheds to all become co-ed," he said.
"We created a space with tools and equipment so men felt comfortable talking to each other.
"When it becomes a shared space, those conversations could stop."
Ms Slater said gender-exclusive spaces were also "really powerful" for many women, such as those escaping domestic violence.
"It was really helpful for them to have a space where they felt safe and where they could come and learn skills that were traditionally exclusive to men," she said.
But Ms Slater said a one-size-fits-all approach would not work and each community needed to work out the best way to accommodate its aspiring shedders.
Mr Helmers said it made sense that the men's shed movement would evolve.
AMSA was making changes to broaden its work, including trials to attract younger men, which required sheds to open in the evenings to accommodate those who work during the day.
"How men's sheds will change into the future and how women's sheds will evolve remains to be seen," he said.
Ms Slater said women's sheds had diverse offerings tailored to their communities, such as one in the Northern Territory that focused on bush medicine.
At She Shed Cairns, aside from the traditional arts and crafts, lessons in financial literacy and home maintenance have also been included after Ms Mitchell was bombarded with requests.
"I now know women over the age of 50 are at the biggest risk of homelessness," Ms Mitchell said.
"I've found an ex-financial planner who's willing to give her time, and we have a lovely lady who's come on board to teach woodwork, so hopefully we can empower women to be more confident with power tools and maintain their own home."