AT 93 years young, Tidley Triffett may not be mustering cattle or riding horses, but the love of the bush still flows strong through his veins.
The beloved bushman celebrated his 93rd birthday last Monday, surrounded by loved ones at his nursing home in Charters Towers.
While the celebrations rung out and the 'hip hip hoorays' echoed through the home, Mr Triffet, as dilligent as ever, was busy working away on his lifelong passion of whip making, with a new whip perched in his lap as his fingers busied themselves with the intricate leather.
Friend Warren Butler was there to help him celebrate.
He first met Mr Triffet in 1959 when he worked with Mr Butler's father as a drover.
"(Tidley) was a real horseman and always liked whips and decided to make green hide whips first, then dry them and cut them out and make them. Then he decided to get roo hide and he made roo hide whips," Mr Butler said.
"I bought four whips off him last Monday...for my grandson and granddaughter.
"He's well known for his whip making. You talk to people and they say they got a whip from Tidley Triffet...he's self-taught."
The "very good quality" whips are made with love and patience, and can be customised depending on the customer's taste.
"He makes them all different colours; green, silver, black, plain tan...and length-wise he can make them from five feet to eight feet...he takes a lot of pride in his whips," Mr Butler said.
Mr Triffet is the last whip maker in Charters Towers, and would often sell his products at local markets until word of mouth meant the business swiftly came to him, with people ordering them for their ringers and station work.
"At event camp draft, where you have to trot and canter so far and you've got to crack the whip, people look for a good whip that cracks easy."
Mr Butler said he could describe his lifelong friend as a "real bushman".
"He's been in the bush all his life and that's all he talks about is the bush. He's a lovely old fella. A real gentleman," he said.
"He was a good drover, a good horse broker and just a good buck jump driver."
In 1959, a travelling buck jump show came to town, enticing the pair along to enjoy the event.
Mr Triffet jumped on a horse named Master Be Mine which jumped 10.
"When I asked if he rode him, Tidley words were 'I did, I could have rolled a smoke when riding him, I rode him that easy'," Mr Butler said.
"A few years later, he rode another horse in the ring in Julia Creek. A horse called King of the Ring. I said to him 'how did you go?'. He said "I rolled a smoke that time'.
"He's a funny old fella."
Mr Triffet would walk cattle from the Gulf to Julia Creek, spending a lot of time during his drives on Millungera Station as a horse breaker and stocksman.
He and his late wife Ollie had one son, Dan.
When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the pair made thee decision to go into a nursing home seven years ago.
While she has since passed away, Mr Butler said the love between the pair is still as strong as ever.
"He went (into the home) to help her. He loved her. When I talk to him outside the home, he gets the photo (of her) and kisses her," he said.
"He's a personal friend of mine. He worked for my father when I was still going for school and he looked after me.
"I now drive six hours to see him from my place at the Tablelands. It's worth every penny."
