Some babies sleep in cosy cots or in the pram on a quiet neighbourhood walk, but Sue Wright's baby used to sleep in a workshop.

It was the late 1980s and Sue sold truck parts, a job requiring an encyclopedic mechanical knowledge, while also raising her daughter Yvette.

"I'd send one of the apprentices out and he'd stand by the car, because Yvette would be asleep in her baby capsule," she said.

"I went in and did my job in the workshop and had a look at their brake problems or their suspension problems.

In late August Ms Wright was inducted into the Alice Springs Road Transport Museum Hall of Fame to celebrate her significant contributions to Australia's transport industry.

But in her 50-odd years working in the male dominated trucking field, Ms Wright wasn't always treated equally.

Sometimes truck drivers would doubt her knowledge, looking instead for a man to assist them.

"In the end, I would say, 'Look, I'm the only boy you're going to get here,'" Ms Wright said.

"A lot of [male truck drivers] are amazed that a female could know what they want and then go to the next stage and say, 'No, you don't need that. This is what you need.'"

An interest in mechanics

Born and raised in Adelaide, Ms Wright left school at 16 to work at the Cavan Post Office, north of Adelaide.

Next, she worked as an attendant at a service station, a receptionist at a rural supplies shop and a soil analyst, before taking up an office administration job with a trucking company.

In 1978 and then married, Ms Wright and her first husband moved to Sydney to establish a new branch for the trucking company.

"That's when I really got involved with spare parts ... and started learning from there what the different parts were, what a camshaft was and what a slack adjuster was.

"I was interested in the whole mechanics of how it all went together and how it was working."

The Sydney branch was successful, so in 1980 Ms Wright was asked to move to Melbourne to establish another branch. Two years later, she moved to a new company and started a branch in Dandenong.

By 1984, Ms Wright had set up her own business, Trail and Truck Spares, supplying parts from Dandenong South, which she ran for 16 years.

During the 1980s and 90s, Ms Wright became involved with the Institute of Road Transport Engineers (IRTE) and was invited to become a member.

"I was invited to join by the chief engineer at Ford Trucks and the engineer at Hendrickson Australia — both offered to nominate me as a member ... based on [my] length of time and experience in the road transport industry,"  she said.

In 1991, she was elected chair of the Victorian Division of the IRTE, and served for eight years.

Over the next two decades, Ms Wright sold her business and moved to Kalgoorlie with her second husband, moved back to Adelaide after his death, then returned to Melbourne, all the while working in trucking parts.

In 2012, Ms Wright moved to Darwin and some years later to Alice Springs, before finally moving back to Adelaide, where she lives now.

Ms Wright's career spanned five states and more than 50 years.

'A dream come true'

Celebrating her 70th birthday this year and still working in the industry, Ms Wright said her induction into the Road Transport Museum Hall of Fame was "a dream come true".

"I never expected it to happen and I feel very humbled and honoured for doing a job that I love," she said.

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Ms Wright hopes to inspire women in transport and trucking.

Reflecting on her career, she said women can do anything they have a passion for. 

"You just have to believe in yourself, that you can do it and just go for it," she said.

"Things have changed now, and it's become so much more acceptable that women are doing men's roles.

"There's nothing stopping you. It's just, have confidence in yourself and look forward."