John Henry Lockett (22 January 1891 – 25 May 2002) was the oldest man ever in Australia when he died aged 111 years, 123 days. As one of the last surviving

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that has ...

s of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was acclaimed as a national hero during the last decade of his life.

Life

Lockett was born in the small

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

town of

Waanyarra Waanyarra is a locality in north central Victoria, Australia. The locality is in the Shire of Loddon, north west of the state capital, Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populo ...

, near

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

. He left school aged 9 to work on a local farm. Later, he worked for his uncles in

The Mallee The Mallee covers the most northwesterly part of Victoria, bounded by the South Australian and New South Wales borders. Definitions of the south-eastern boundary vary, however, all are based on the historic Victorian distribution of mallee ...

. 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 Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

and was discharged on 20 September 1919. After the war, Lockett returned to The Mallee and selected a block of land in Linga, Victoria, deciding to make his living as a farmer. In 1923, he married Maybell Ingwerson and they had four children together. In 1963, the couple retired to Bendigo, leaving the farmland (which now covered more than ), in the care of their children and grandchildren. After turning 100, Lockett was regarded in Australia as a "legend", "noted not only for his remarkable lucidity and age, but as one of Australia's few surviving World War I veterans." In 1998, Lockett and his known fellow surviving veterans were awarded ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the ''

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...

'' by the French government for their service in the war. The ceremony was held in Lockett's home town of Bendigo, attended by Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...

, who described Lockett as a "priceless national treasure .... who represents so much of what is the true Australian spirit ... courage ... adventure ... a willingness to share adversity". In 2000, aged 109, Lockett 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 years, 123 days, just three days after fellow

supercentenarian A supercentenarian (sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian) is a person who has reached the age of 110 years. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of major age-related diseases u ...

Christina Cock, the oldest woman and person ever in Australia and

Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a region, geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of ...

. Lockett was the oldest man and Freemason ever in Australia and in Oceania. He was honoured with a state funeral, and described as "a hero of the nation", who "was indeed the quintessential Australian battler. Whatever hand of cards fate dealt him, his response was, 'No worries.' " At the time of his death, he was survived by four children: Jack, Kevin, Joyce, and Ron; fifteen grandchildren; and twenty-four great-grandchildren. He was Australia's oldest verified male until 2021 when Dexter Kruger set a new national record. Jack was also amongst the world's 100 oldest verified males until 2021.

Honours and awards

* Medal of the Order of Australia (awarded 11 June 2001) *

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

* Victory Medal *

80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance Medal The 80th Anniversary Armistice Remembrance Medal was a commemorative medal made to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Armistice marking the end of World War I. Each of the 71 surviving Australian First World War veterans were presented with ...

(awarded 21 April 1999) *

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

(awarded 1 January 2002) *''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the

(awarded 4 July 1998)

References

External links

Personal Stories: John "Jack" Lockett – ''Victorians At War'' project page (includes photographs)
Department of Veterans Affairs press release.
"Farewell to a gentle veteran"
Meaghan Shaw, ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 2002-05-27. Accessed 2005-10-25.
"Vale Jack Lockett: a zest for life for 111 years"
Farah Farouque, ''The Age'', 2002-05-31. Accessed 2005-10-25.

–

Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors an ...

catalogue summary. Accessed 2005-10-25.
Jack Lockett – Transcript of interview by Ina Bertrand
– an interview in Bendigo on 2000-12-13. Accessed 2005-10-25.
National Archives of Australia
Service Record of Sgt J.H. Lockett, Regt Number 1194
Australian War Memorial: John Henry (Jack) Lockett (1194) (Sergeant), 38th Battalion AIF, 1916–1919
interviewed by Peter Rubinstein. Accessed 2018-11-21 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lockett, Jack 1891 births 2002 deaths Australian Army soldiers Australian military personnel of World War I Australian supercentenarians Men supercentenarians Knights of the Legion of Honour Military personnel from Victoria (state) Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Deaths from kidney failure in Australia