Men's shed expert Barry Golding says opening the door to women could ensure sheds' survival

When women first started asking if they could join the men's shed in the Victorian town of Ballarat, member Lynton Roberts had a standard response. "It's really about doing stuff for the community," Mr Roberts says, of the shed's purpose. "Thirty per cent of Australians were born in a non-English speaking nation, and I think we have to get better at involving not only people from diverse cultural backgrounds, but also crossing boundaries in relation to gender and First Nations peoples," says Professor Golding, whose latest book is Shoulder to Shoulder: Broadening the Men's Shed Movement. In that way, she says "it's slightly different from your typical men's shed". Pioneering shed has change on the horizon One of the oldest men's sheds in Australia – at 22 years old – is in Port Augusta, the South Australian town of around 13,000 people.