Nyngan's Victoria Hoy is among an army of women taking up a mechanical trade

There are cars on hoists, tools of the trade ready to repair, the wireless is playing in the background and there is a line of discarded tyres piled up at the side.

Then, out from under the hood of a Subaru Forester pops Victoria Hoy.

Victoria is among a small army of women, who according to the Motor Trades Association of Australia, represents just less than five per cent of the entire national mechanics industry.

Now 23, Victoria grew up in her father John's garage or was around machinery on their family farm, and it wasn't until last year that she officially donned her mechanic overalls.

"When I was younger I tried to convince dad that I wanted to be a mechanic so I could leave school, but he didn't let me and wanted me to finish school first," Victoria said.

Last year she started working in the garage's office to help her mother while they were running the post office at the same time.

But that didn't last long.

"I'd be wearing my nice office clothes and then dad would ask if I could do the NRMA call out down the street because he was flat out, or he'd ask me to change a tyre," she said.

"So I'd come out in nice office clothes and then end up filthy dirty, ruining them."

It got to the point that Victoria said to her dad: "should I come in work clothes tomorrow".

"He said 'just come in your work clothes every day' and I never went back into the office," she said.

It was October last year, she started her mechanical apprenticeship.

And she says it's been non-stop with plenty of stories and funny remarks especially when she steps out of a heavy rigid tow truck when someone breaks down.

"I was only saying to my sister everyone has to make some sort of comment," she said.

"When I tow someone in, or have to pick up someone in the middle of nowhere, they are always shocked when I turn up.

"Even if they are trying to be nice, they always say something.

"I was changing a battery for this guy once who said 'it's lucky I've got you doing this young lady because if it was some bloke he would not have taken much care or been as quick as you'.

"There was even an old lady who I changed a battery for and she went around town telling everyone I should be a runway model not a grease monkey, and leave it to the boys."

Even though there are three mechanics in Nyngan, the father-daughter duo are flat out.

While the garage services people's vehicles locally, people also travel from Broken Hill, Bourke and Brewarrina. And there was even a time she had to travel nine hours to Goulburn to tow back a vehicle.

On a good day, Victoria finishes at 5pm, but sometimes on call-outs, it might not be until midnight before she rolls into bed. And then she's back in the garage at 8.30am even though she's already been up before the sun rises working her horses.

Unlike most mechanics who have a passion-project car on the side they are doing up, Victoria is a mechanic to support her dream of show jumping.

"Horses are my passion project," Victoria said, who also drives a semi-trailer truck to horse shows as she has her heavy vehicle licence.

In 2018 she won the overall best Thoroughbred with her retired race horse Falklands at the Tamworth World Cup Showjumping.

She said being a mechanic worked well with her training for competitions.

"It's pretty handy working for mum and dad, who need the help and want someone reliable, but let me go to horse competitions, so it works well," she said.

"But I like the satisfaction of seeing something wrong, diagnosing it yourself and then going and fixing it, test driving it and knowing that you've done the job properly to put it back on the road."

TAFE NSW head teacher of automotive, Trent O'Neill, said he was seeing more female agricultural mechanics, especially in the past three years.

Of those picking up the trade, some came from a family farm, others had fathers who were mechanics or some were just out of school giving it a go.

"I have a Certificate III in Agricultural Mechanical Technology class this year at TAFE NSW Primary Industries Centre where a third of students are female," Trent said.

"I think there's a growing acceptance that women can do the job as well as men and the image of mechanics is changing, they're no longer considered grease monkeys.

"There is a lot more technology and diagnostics that appeals to women."

Back in the workshop, Victoria's dad wants her to take over the family business when he retires, but in the meantime she is happy to work alongside him.

"People always ask me how you work with your dad all day and I say 'I love it because we are best friends and we get on a like a house on fire, so I'm pretty lucky," she said.