He moved into the cottage on the property with his wife of 12 months, Thelma, in 1974 and along with the day-to-day tasks as a stockman, they began a family in 1979 and raised four children, Allison, Esmay, Scott and Troy.

Now that retirement is here, they have an agreement with the owners of the property, Andrew and Kate White, to stay in the cottage, keeping an eye on the farm buildings and infrastructure.

"My job was as a stockman on Havilah North. There was no shearing shed, just the cottage and my day started off on a horse and finished on the horse, five days a week," Mr Large said.

Mr Large grew up in a family of seven siblings at Ulan.

"My dad did a bit of everything, trapping rabbits and working with horses," he said.

"He was a bit of a musician; he played the accordion and tap-danced at the same time.

"School was mostly four or five days a week with some correspondence, but when I was 14, I went to work as a casual station hand on Mt Marsden near Rylstone. My brother was working there and got me on the place."

When he was 17, Norm got his driver's licence, and his first car was a Zephyr, followed by a Hillman Minx. Finally, he was able to buy a Falcon ute.

His move to Havilah North, then run by Dennis White, in February 1974 was exciting if not dramatic from the outset.

"It wasn't long after we moved here that a big fire came through the district," he said.

"We were lucky that we got through without losing any livestock, but there was a lot of damage to fences, so we were fencing for quite a while."

The annual hay carting season was a big part of life on the property, as was keeping up with the stock management.

Havilah North was used as an outstation for the main property, Havilah, which was about 14 kilometres away.

"We ran the cast for age ewes here - between 1500 and 2000, which were joined to Border Leicester rams," Norm said.

"We also ran about 300 Devon cows and a wether flock of about 6000 head in three or four mobs of about 800 to 8900 head."

Changes to this livestock enterprise have occurred over the years. The Devon cattle were replaced with Angus, and the wethers were sold off and no longer run as wool cutters.

"Our daily routines include checking stock, drenching sheep every six weeks, fencing and cutting Bathurst burrs," he said.

"At the shearing time, I would drive the sheep to the Havilah shearing shed, but when it was time to crutch, we used a three-stand plant, run off a diesel motor at the yards where my house is.

"Every year, I had to go into the Havilah cattle yards to wash, brush and comb the stud Devon cattle for the annual sale.

"The Havilah Merino stud sale was at Havilah North. I can't remember what year they started. There was always a good lineup of people who came to the sales."

Changes began in the 1980s. A new woolshed was built in Havilah North in 1985 and the time spent walking sheep the 10 to 14km each way to the other property was cut completely.

From horses, the men progressed to motorbikes, and according to Andrew White it was "a stubborn adoption".

"We have now moved to four-wheeler quad bikes and side-by-sides and still use them."

Dogs were a vital part of Norm's job, and at some stages, he had up to 16 on hand, being broken in and learning their trade, some to be kept and others sold.

There is a saying that a stockman gets only one good dog in a lifetime. Norm says he's had two.

"I had a Border Collie/Kelpie cross called Shep. He was a fantastic lead dog, slowing down the mob so it didn't get too strung out," he said.

"I switched away from the Border Collies as I found they couldn't stick at the job like the Kelpies can. I had a Kelpie called Buddy that was one of the best too."

Management of the paddocks was given several approaches.

"We went through a time trying different methods of weed control and strip grazing," he said.

"Eventually, we went back to the old system of farm life, even though a lot of new methods have eventuated.

"When I first got here, the sheep yards above the house were all wooden planks, and over time, these were replaced by nice steel yards, with a much better system of working the sheep through them."

Norm said after 50 years of working on Havilah North, it's hard to take a step back after doing something he's enjoyed totally all his working life.

He said the friendship that has grown with Andrew and Kate White has been a big part of his job satisfaction.

"How many people can say they have worked with three generations of a great family over five decades? The friendship and family; they are the most honest, humble and hardworking people and it's nice to celebrate with them," he said.