Ms Davey moved to Trangie in her 20s after completing TAFE via correspondence and undertaking a five-year hairdressing apprenticeship in Griffith.

When she arrived there were no permanent hairdressers in Trangie, so she began working for a hairdresser who would visit from Narromine.

However after a few months, and gaining a number of clients, Ms Davey opened up a small salon at the back of the newsagency.

Within 18 months, she had purchased her own home and opened a private salon at the back of her house where she worked for 24 years.

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But in 1970 to gain more exposure, Ms Davey opened Ethne's Hair Studio in the main street, where she has remained.

"It's been great, I love what I do," she said.

"Ever since I was a little girl, there were hairdressers in the family, and that's what I wanted to do, I love it.

"With my blind eye and deaf ear, which I've had all my life, it's been the right job for the conditions."

For Ms Davey it's the joy she is able to give to her clients, which is why she has stuck it out for so long.

"A client comes in, maybe they're not feeling well, not looking real well, and hopefully they walk out feeling better, looking better and I get paid for it," she said.

"I also love going up to the hostel and doing the oldies hair once a month, I don't charge anything ... because a lot of them are old clients."

Ms Davey said much has changed in the techniques and trends over the years, but remained positive she had introduced Trangie to blow-drying.

"It was a different style of blow-drying, you blow the hair into waves so it did away with the old butterfly clips, and it was more natural and stayed longer and was just a better look," she said.

"It just finished off a haircut very nicely, sometimes I still do it."

A highlight of her career she said was the dances and dinners which were a regular pastime.

"Back then people wouldn't go anywhere unless their hair was done, so I was always busy Friday and Saturday," she said.

"We would start at seven in the morning, and I might go through to 3pm in the afternoon, so I had big days sometimes we wouldn't finish until 9pm at night."

However after 50 years she said she's not retiring.

"I don't know when (I'll retire), because I enjoy what I do and I don't do anything else," she said.

Ms Davey thanked the Tangie Action Group and Narromine Shire Council for the celebration, her clients over the years, and her husband Des and daughter Marlene.

"Trangie people have been super, I've got a lot of loyal clients. Some move away, some pass away but there's generations I've been doing, it's been great," she said.