Ken Weeks

BIOGRAPHY

Weeks was born on 5 October 1913 at his grandparents’ house, located on Dovedale Street in Grafton, New South Wales, near the banks of the Clarence River. He was the first of five children born to Darcy Edwin Weeks and Dorothy Forster (nee Loxton). As a child, his family moved to a riverside farm located in Swan Creek, and he would later attend Grafton High School.

In 1941, at the start of World War II, Weeks married Jean McPhee (1911-1986); the couple had two sons, Ian and Noel. They were married for 45 years before Jean’s death in 1986.

Weeks had many occupations throughout his working life, with him working on construction jobs like putting up roads and constructing wartime airfields at Evans Head. He was also a truck driver, a petrol station operator, and an employee at the Grafton Match Factory. He was also a co-owner of a Chrysler car dealership and repair business in Grafton. During World War II, he applied to join the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), but at a height of just 1.5 meters, his short stature led to him being turned away. After World War II, he set up a radio and electrical sales and repair business at 59 Prince St, which he operated for several years before later replacing it with a milk bar. He eventually worked as a school bus driver in Clarence Valley, before ultimately retiring at the age of 65.

In 2012, at the age of 98, Weeks and his two younger brothers, Alan and Gordon (both also in their 90s), attended a ceremony at Grafton High School to celebrate the school’s 100th anniversary.

Throughout his life, Weeks was known to be very active, and would still walk into town on foot to do all his shopping even after turning 100. Shortly after his 100th birthday, however, he chose to buy an electric tricycle to make his shopping trips easier. He would continue to live on his own in the same home he had owned for 65 years before deciding to move into a retirement home, shortly before his 105th birthday in 2018.

In early 2023, Weeks contracted COVID-19, but recovered without any serious complications. On 5 October 2023, he celebrated his 110th birthday, making him one of only seven Australian men known to have reached this milestone. At the age of 110, he is still able to walk without the aid of a cane.