"I've been working on it for a long time," he said.

The centenarian, who lives with his son and daughter-in-law in Tullamore, has a large congregation of family in Orange and, on Saturday, was as sprightly and talkative as a man many years his junior when they gathered at The Greenhouse of Orange to mark his milestone.

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Originally from Binnaway - "22 miles away [from Coonabrabran] in the old language" - Mr Guy lived in, and then operated, the family general store when his father bought the place in 1917, retiring in 1981.

"I've seen some big changes, those small towns like Tullamore and Bogan Gate and up our way Binnaway and Baradine and Dunedoo, they're all gone," he said, harking back to the days where small towns were self-sufficient and booming.

"Tullamore once had three or four stores, a hospital and a doctors and a chemist, newsagents and so on, but we've only got one store now and he's in danger of closing.

"People seem to be moving towards the bigger centres like Dubbo and Tamworth and even places like Wellington."

Even places like Gulgong or Carcoar, which are like a step back in time for most, don't replicate life the way Mr Guy remembered it.

"Everywhere changes, every generation has changed, communities have changed, those in my time were very close together, which they had to be because we were so isolated and didn't have good roads," he said.

That strong sense of community stayed with Mr Guy, and he credited it with his long life.

"I think it's the fact that I seem to get on with people and make friends easily, and wherever I go I make friends," he said.

"It's not so much the material things which make a life, it's the friendships and those kinds of things which give you the most satisfaction."

Family has also been a crucial part, despite him "losing count" of how many great-grandchildren he had, which is before he got started on how many great-great-grandchildren he had.

"I started with four kids and got to 14 great-grandchildren and lost track," he said laughing.