Arthur Bungard (64) played down a career which began in Dunedin, as he handed over the keys of his business, Cromwell Beauty Centre, to its new owners on Friday.
''It's nothing much; I know people doing it for longer than me.''
He believed his business, which he set up on Melmore St in the Old Cromwell area in 1969, was the only one from that period still operating after moving to the Cromwell Mall due to the creation of Lake Dunstan in the early 1990s.
The hairdressers was doing well, and the only reason he was retiring from an enjoyable career was his health, he said.
''It's a good business. If my health was as it was five years ago, I would not have thought about giving up.
''It's just time to move on. It's been pretty full on for the past few years. I have never had much of a break at all, I need some time for me now while I'm still able to do it.''
Mr Bungard, who intended to remain in Cromwell, said he was sad to leave the salon.
After an emotional last week at the hairdressing business, he wanted to thank the people who had worked for him over the years.
''The reason I have enjoyed it so much is because the staff I have had over the years, they have been great.''
Customers, particularly those who had been friends, had also played a major part in his enjoying the job, he said.
Over the more than four decades in business, nothing had seemed too hard, as he was interested in and liked the work.
Before setting up his business in old Cromwell, Mr Bungard trained at a hairdressing college in Dunedin, and worked in salons there and in Balclutha.
While many things had changed in the job, such as the rising prices of haircuts, and different hairstyles, others, such as equipment, had stayed relatively similar, he said.
The new owners of the business planned to change the operation's name to ''Arthur's''.
