When Johnny Rankine started working at Alexandria Station — a remote cattle station 270 kilometres east of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory — there were hardly any buildings, all the work was done by horseback, and the nightly entertainment was sitting around the campfire chatting.

But more than 50 years later Mr Rankine is still working hard on the station and things have changed a lot.

One of those changes is the introduction of road trains, which Mr Rankine has estimated he has driven for more than 3 million kilometres all within the station.

"It was all horse work when I started off — horseback from daylight to dark every day, driving cattle everywhere," Mr Rankine said.

"[In] 1965 I started working here. I came here when I was 14, I grew up here and I kept working.

"There's a lot of buildings here now; there's rec rooms and everything like that. We had none of this here years ago, none of this flash stuff."

Despite the vast expanse of land on Alexandria Station, Johnny Rankine says he has never once been lost. ( ABC Rural: Katrina Beavan )

Behind the wheel

After years mustering cattle as a ringer, being a bore mechanic, and working as a grader driver, Mr Rankine said he then went behind the wheel of the road train.

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"In 1974 I started driving trucks and that's where I stayed," he said.

Driving 55,000km a year on the station — and often more — Mr Rankine estimated he has driven the distance equivalent of around the world, which is roughly 40,000km, almost 80 times.

The property, along with its outstations, has an area of 16,116km2 and takes the title of the NT's largest cattle station, but the veteran truck driver said he has never once been lost, and knows Alexandria Station like the back of his hand.

"I know him [the station] well all right. I know where everything is, I know all the short cuts and where to go and everything like that," Mr Rankine said.

As the sun sets at Alexandria, Johnny looks forward to a chat with his colleagues, both old and new. ( ABC Rural: Katrina Beavan )

Secret to longevity

Mr Rankine is a popular personality on the station and has earned his own label painted on the bench outside the station's social club that simply says 'JR's Throne'.

He said it is his love of the outback lifestyle and station life that has kept him at the remote cattle station for more than half a century.

"There's nothing to worry about, you just work along and enjoy yourself," Mr Rankine said.

According to Mr Rankine the adventure is far from over, with retirement still a long way off.

"I'll keep going [while] I can.

"What else am I gonna do? I'll go mad if I sit around for a week or something like that."

As for what his secret for such impressive longevity on the station, Mr Rankine said it is fairly simple: "I work along, enjoy myself, and give people cheek."