Women in an isolated town head to the shed to fight loneliness

Hardly anyone is around in the isolated Snowy Mountains town of Talbingo on a crisp and foggy Wednesday morning, except for a group of 13 women who are half-skipping into the Talbingo Trading Post.

It is the only shop in town that operates year-round, and now it also doubles as the temporary home of the Talbingo Women's Shed Association.

Di O'Keefe moved to Talbingo with her husband 40 years ago, but after his death, she experienced firsthand the difficulties that can come with living in such an isolated town.

"Often a week would go by and I wouldn't have talked to anyone except on the phone," she said.

"My family were, in fact, concerned because I had no social [face to face] contact."

The town was built by the Snowy Mountains Authority in the early 1960s to house workers for the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, which has now expanded into Snowy 2.0.

Now it is known for water sports on the Talbingo Reservoir and its close proximity to the Selwyn Snow Resort, bringing in thousands of holiday-makers across summer and winter.

The closest town to Talbingo with major services, such as a supermarket, is Tumut.

A visit there involves a one-hour round trip on the windy route of the Snowy Mountains Highway.

Mrs O'Keefe said she had seen a drastic decline in services and community events over the years.

"There's nothing on offer to women anymore," she said.

"There was a big community hall … [we] used to have things like badminton and concerts."

Her friend Mary Bargery lost her husband 18 months ago.

She had moved to Talbingo in 1970 with her husband, who was a tradesman and worked on the Snowy Scheme.

"We came to visit my brother, who was living here at the time, and it was instant love," she said.

"We both gave up our jobs in Sydney and moved."

Mrs Bargery said there were quite a few elderly women in Talbingo who moved to the town with their husbands for the Snowy Scheme and who were now widowed.

"A lot of us are actually choosing to be here," she said.

A lifeline for local women

Talbingo Women's Shed secretary, Debbie Midson, said her main wish was for women in Talbingo not to be alone.

That is how the idea for the Talbingo Women's Shed was born.

"I would hate to think that Talbingo could end up like Sydney or Melbourne, where an elderly person passed away in their house and nobody knew until weeks and weeks afterwards," she said.

"A lot of women sit by themselves, all day, every day.

"For people in Talbingo, we probably go to Tumut once a week to do our grocery shopping. So most of the time you're housebound unless you have somewhere to go, something to do, someone to see."

More than 40 people have signed up to the association, which was formed in April this year.

The group gathers at the end of every month for a general meeting, and holds community events and workshops.

The women's shed has been running for less than three months but it's already changing the lives of many residents.

"The women's shed is bringing cohesiveness to us, bringing us together and addressing isolation for those people who are isolated," Mrs Bargery said.

"It's been such a positive experience."