Background
Lockett was born in the small Victorian town of Waanyarra, near Bendigo.
Lockett was born in the small Victorian town of Waanyarra, near Bendigo.
At the time of his death, aged 111 years and 123 days, he was the oldest man and Freemason in Australia. He died just three days after fellow supercentenarian Christina Cock, Australia"s oldest woman and oldest person ever, who was 114 at the time of her death. He left school at the age of 9 to work on a local farm.
On 24 March 1916, he travelled to Mildura to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force.
He served in France with the 38th Battalion, earning promotion to sergeant and was discharged on 20 September 1919. After the war, Lockett returned to The Mallee and selected a 640 acres (260 ha) block of land in Linga, Victoria, deciding to make his living as a farmer.
In 2000, at the age of 109, he participated in the 2000 Olympic Torch Relay. On 11 June 2001, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for service to the community of Bendigo, particularly as a representative of Australia war veterans.
Lockett died of kidney failure at age 111.