'You're going to laugh at yourself': Gabby's rise through the wool ranks

Though things have changed for the better, with more women entering the male-dominated industry, she recalls how she got her colleagues on side to begin with.

"They used to say to me, 'you're a woman, you should be home with the kids cleaning'. And I'd say, 'that's not the way the world works no more'," the 33-year-old said.

"You've got to play fire with fire. They give you a cheeky comment, you give them a cheeky comment back. You do it til you prove it. Let them know you're willing to do the long miles to get the job done."

Ms Smith is moving up the ranks in the wool trade and now works in a marketing role with Quality Wool in Coonamble, which has her travelling around Australia.

But this wasn't always the case. Growing up in Narromine, she cut her teeth in the wool shed.

"I started fresh. Never having been in the shearing sheds before unless I was a little kid playing, I just worked hard," Ms Smith said.

"I'd try and make it so that even though I might not be the fastest person, my job gets done to the standard it should be.

"I just watched and listened and took notes off everybody and then I just asked if I could help them."

One minute, she'd be sweeping, then she'd ask to help throw fleeces.

Instead of having 'smoko' breaks, Ms Smith learned to use the wool presser and eventually to shear a sheep.

Her advice for anyone - particularly young women - entering the industry, would be to "get up and put yourself out there".

"You're going to make mistakes and laugh at yourself, and you'll also have moments where you'll laugh because you're having fun," she said.

Ms Smith worked in shearing sheds for 10 years before joining broker Quality Wool, and has been touring the company's facilities throughout the country.

Under the business's Q-Academy she has been developing new skills, including stints in the company's 27,000-meter-squared show floor and wool store in Geelong, bulk class operation in Port Adelaide, and visiting various regional stores.

"Not long after I came on board, I found out I'd be flying to Adelaide to spend time in the stores and at the head office there," she said.

"I've also been to Geelong and to Melbourne to see the auction selling part of the wool process, which I loved.

"I'll soon head back to Victoria for another stint down there, and then over to Peak Hill, where I'll be learning how to use the laser scanning machine."

Her favourite thing about the job is meeting new people - and she's even met new people in Coonamble, where she thought she knew everyone.

"I thought I knew most people but I'm meeting a lot I had no idea were even here," she said.