With his pet chihuahua and trusty gopher, 97yo grazier won't slow down

Doug Harrison, a 97-year-old grazier, defies conventional retirement, remaining actively involved in the daily operations of Langwell Station in western New South Wales, Australia. Accompanied by his pet chihuahua, Ilhi, and a trusty gopher, Harrison continues his chores, emphasizing a philosophy of staying engaged.

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I'm not as old as I look, I'm only 97.

"If you get to the stage where you haven't got anything to do when you get up in the morning, what's the point of getting up?" Harrison remarked. He has lived at Langwell Station since his parents purchased the property in 1932 and returned to work there after boarding school in 1946, following in his father's footsteps as a pastoralist.

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If you get to the stage where you haven't got anything to do when you get up in the morning, what's the point of getting up?

Harrison's life has spanned significant historical events, including the severe drought of 1982. He vividly recalls losing 800 sheep buried by a dust storm during that period. Despite such hardships, his approach is to "just get up in the morning and carry on."

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If I had the brains, I probably would have liked to [have] gone and done an engineering course. [But] I decided to become a pastoralist, same as Dad did.

Beyond his work with sheep and cattle, Harrison also pursued a passion for aviation, earning his pilot's license at the age of 23. This achievement marked a significant personal milestone, overcoming initial self-doubt about his capabilities.

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All you'd see on the ground was bumps. There were 800 buried sheep from that dust storm.