On Site
On the road Gary Conway, father and motor mechanic is passionate about servicing cars, and has been for more than 25 years, recently venturing into the word of Motorhome services – the bigger, the better. Photographer: Anthony Webster What inspired you to become a mechanic? When I was a kid of around 12 you could always find me pulling things to pieces and playing around with lawn mowers and engines. I was naturally able to just figure things out. I was 15 when I began by motor mechanic apprenticeship in Hopetoun – working on farm machinery. The 1983 drought inspired me to make the move to Bendigo as jobs were becoming scarce in the Mallee. I worked at Lou Owen Autos for around 18 months before opening my first business named Conway Car Repairs. The next step was the purchase of Kangaroo Flat Auto service, over 25 years ago now – and we still have some of the original customers still choosing to have their cars serviced here. What do you love about your job? Customer satisfaction. There is nothing better than when a customer is happy with what we do and the care we take. It’s definitely not the money or the hours that’s for sure. Do you find any part of your job difficult or challenging? Probably to make sure everything gets out on time and keeping the place clean. Our mechanics hands are black, so black marks appear everywhere – we are having a meeting about that this week. We are on
display and I like to ensure the workshop looks nice and clean. What are your work hours like? Pretty good at the moment 8am – 6pm Monday to Friday. Back in the day I did some fairly long hours while I was establishing the business. What is your favourite ‘tool’ of your trade? It would have to be our new four post movable hoist. It can lift 30 tons of weight. It makes life so much easier for us. We can put a truck, motorhome or large ute on it and get great access underneath. It’s housed in our new shed. What do you drive currently? I drive a Toyota Hilux. Rough and tough like myself. I’ve had it for five years. What is your dream car? It would have to be an Isuzu Tip Truck that I’d use for gardening. I’m a keen gardener. What do you see in the future in the mechanical industry? Are there any new trends emerging? We used to dismantle and actually repair parts. Now we just replace them. This is a good thing for the consumer as their parts are brand new and more reliable, however it’s poor for our young apprentices who will never get the opportunity or knowledge on
how to repair damaged parts. We’ve noticed some changes happening at Kangaroo Flat Auto Service. Can you tell us what you have been up too in regards to the Motorhome services? I bought a Motorhome a few years back to tow my boat and go fishing. We fell in love with it and soon discovered there were no good servicing options available. So I decided to build a workshop to service motorhomes and we service motorhomes from Cairns to Perth. People stop by our workshop on their travels for a service. We now also hire motorhomes and have two Jayco Conquest Motorhomes for hire. The best part is there is no early checkout while you are on your holiday. How many children do you have? Tell us what is special about them and your wife? I have a wife of 26 years Maree, who is a midwife in Bendigo, daughters Courtney, who is a country music signer, Alana who is a classical singer and Alexandra who is a really talented rower. We also have a son Timothy who is an apprentice motor mechanic here. When you’re not working, what do you like to do with your time? Gardening, a bit of fishing. Following the kids around to rowing events and concerts. ■
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