Meg Roache retires from Wagga Myer on Baylis Street

Ms Roache, an iconic figure of the Baylis Street scene, has retired from Myer after 43 years in its Wagga store.

"It was a bit surreal. It's been a couple of weeks now," she said.

"I miss the people. That just takes you time."

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She began her retail career as a casual at the former Wagga department store Edmondson's on Gurwood Street.

"I was working there one day and the store manager came and said, 'I'm going to put you in childrenswear as manager. I was horrified - I left school at 15 and I didn't have a lot of education," she said.

"I said, 'I'm not going to do it'. And he said 'You will'. So, that was the start of it and it just went on from there."

Ms Roache has worked in four department stores in Wagga, covered almost every section in Myer and witnessed the online revolution in the retail industry.

She said some of her regular customers brought her cards and flowers during her final week at Myer and that her colleagues had felt like family.

"We have done some dancing on tables in our time. Everybody sort of got together. They gelled," she said.

"Everybody's been here for a long time - babies, marriages, engagements. We've been through a lot of stuff. It has been a journey."

Now, she plans to get more involved in her charity work with Kurrajong Waratah and Ronald McDonald House.

Myer store manager Chris Boneham said Ms Roache was already missed.

"She's been a great merchant and a great person to work with," he said.