The Austral resident is a retired naval reservist, he built buses for the government, he is a professional collie breeder and a radio DJ at weekends.

Mr Phillips enlisted in the National Service in 1956 before signing up for the naval reserve.

``I remember going through a typhoon in Hong Kong during my national service,'' he said.

``If you imagine a cyclone, a typhoon spins in the opposite direction. I was in an aircraft carrier and we were breaking waves three feet deep.

``It was just rain and big waves. We had to go through the rough part first, then we got to the calm eye and it got rough again before we could get out.

``When I think about it now the reason I joined the naval reservists was because of the excitement at sea.''

He finished his military service at age55.

``I was fortunate never to have had to fire a gun...and I didn't have to go to war.''

Mr Phillips worked on building the bodies of government buses, something he enjoyed.

At home, he and his wife Pam are keen collie breeders.

They moved to Austral 35 years ago to have enough space for the dogs.

``We have three now but at one stage we had 23.''

Many of their dogs have won awards in shows over the years.

The couple are life members of the Collie Club of NSW. At one stage Mr Phillips was a club vice-president.

He also loves country music and has worked at Radio 2GLF for 26 years. He hosts a country music program called Having Breakfast with Bill on Saturday mornings. He's also a life member of the radio station.

``In life you wear a number of different caps and I've thoroughly enjoyed each and every one!''