Bruce Chisholm, the second son of Roy and Mollee Chisholm, was born into a family where, with both his parents from the land, a love of country life and racing was impossible to avoid.

Roy was from Goulburn, NSW, and Mollee (nee Little) from Charleville, Queensland. With his father Harry, Roy ran the first thoroughbred selling complex based at Randwick in Sydney, H. Chisholm & Co. One of Bruce's earliest and fondest memories was sitting astride the immortal Phar Lap when he was stabled at the Chisholm stables after winning the 1930 Melbourne Cup.

Following a fire in 1931 which razed the H. Chisholm & Co selling complex, Roy and his cousin, Colin Chisholm from Khancoban Station, set off to the Northern Territory, initially searching for gold.

With no success Roy returned to Sydney and Colin to Khancoban, but the Territory was now in Roy's blood and in 1937 he was successful in the property ballot and acquired Bond Springs, just north of Alice Springs.

Bruce was educated at Scots College in Bellevue Hill, where his academic career was a run short of "black type". He played first 15 rugby and second 11 cricket and represented Scots in athletics. He obtained his Leaving Certificate in 1944 and joined the Navy where he saw active service off the coast of New Guinea on the Fairmile 825 submarine chaser. Following the surrender, Bruce was a member of the commissioning crew on board HMAS Shoalhaven, where his experience on the land came into play as he was instructed to be the "ship's butcher".

On his discharge from the Navy in 1946, Bruce moved to Bond Springs. When Roy Chisholm died in 1944, Bruce, in partnership with Mollee and his brother Tony, managed Bond Springs and other properties in the Northern Territory. In later years the partnership included Mollee's second husband Jim Sargood.

The early days at Bond Springs were an era of extraordinary camaraderie between pastoralists in the Territory and in Bruce's case many Aborigines were his trusted companions. The Chisholm family hosted many guests throughout their years in the Northern Territory, including the renowned artist Albert Namatjira, and his close friendship was evident in much-treasured paintings of the Bond Springs homestead – a rarity among his work.

In 1957 Bruce married Mary Josephine (Jo) Dalglish from Goulburn, NSW and they had three children, Harry, Penelope and Colin (dec).

In 1962, due to Jo's health, she and Bruce made the decision to move closer to medical care and they relocated from Bond Springs to Khancoban Station, nestled in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains on the southern border of NSW, which Bruce had acquired in 1959.

Khancoban Hereford and thoroughbred stud progeny were keenly sought after whenever they were presented in the sale ring. Bruce imported a stallion, Comet, from England in 1964. Comet stood at Khancoban for 15 years and was the sire of numerous winners, including Cobbermine, Kelly's Eye, Boack and Starglow.

Following Jo's death, Bruce married Lynn Goyne from Tasmania. They had two children, Anna and Phillipa. Bruce continued his public life while at Khancoban, including 17 years on the board of listed company Pivot (later Incitec Pivot), 12 of them as chairman.

Bruce's marriages were as colourful as his life in general. Lynn passed away in 1987 and in 1990 Bruce married Jennifer Harvey from Deniliquin. Bruce sold Khancoban Station in 1994 and retired to Buderim in Queensland, where he and his family had holidayed for many years. Bruce and Jen's marriage ended in 2003 and in 2008 Bruce moved to Wagga Wagga to be closer to his four children and devoted grandchildren.

It was an extraordinary life lived by an extraordinary man – a life well lived.

Bruce is survived by his children Harry, Penny, Anna and Phillipa, and their children.