australia Archives

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Kenneth Weeks at 110 years old. He is an Australian supercentenarian recognized as the current oldest living man in the country.

Kenneth Loxton Weeks was born on 5 October 1913 in Grafton, New South Wales, Australia.

At the start of World War II in 1941, he married Jean McPhee with whom he had two sons. The couple then proceeded to stay married for 45 years before Jean passed away in 1986.

On his 110th birthday in 2023.
(Source: Kevin Hogan MP)

Ken has had many occupations in his life. He worked 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. Ken is also a co-owner of a Chrysler car dealership and repair business in Grafton. After World War II, he set up a radio and electrical sales and repair business at 59 Prince St. He operated this shop for several years but later replaced it with a milk bar. Consequently, he worked as a school bus driver at Clarence Valley.

Ken Weeks moved to an aged care facility at Whiddon Grafton in September 2018 just before turning 105 years old. Even at the age of 110, he is still active and can walk unaided.

On 17 September 2022, Kenneth became the oldest known living man in Australia after Frank Mawer passed away.

For more information, please visit Kenneth Weeks’ Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is saddened to report the passing of Dulcie Fawcett. She was born in Balaklava, South Australia, Australia on 30 January 1913 and passed away in Geraldton, Western Australia, Australia on 2 November 2023 at 110 years, 276 days. On 31 March 2023, following the death of 111-year-old Gwen Moore of Queensland, she became the second-oldest living person in Australia, after Dutch-born Catherina van der Linden.

In 1926, Fawcett and her family left South Australia for a rural area in Western Australia. They settled in Dudawa, where Fawcett lived until 1938. She was homeschooled for one year before attending Dudawa State School. After moving to Belmont in late 1939, Fawcett hot married in Perth in 1940. They had four daughters. The couple lived in Arrino until 1949, when they moved to Nabawa. In 1974, they relocated to Yetna.

On her 110th birthday.
(Source: Geraldton Guardian)

At her family’s request, she later resided at Harbour Pines Retirement Village in Geraldton, where she stayed until her passing.

LongeviQuest is extending our deepest condolences to the bereaved family and friends of Mrs. Dulcie Fawcett.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Lavalette Lamb of Australia at age 110. She was born in Hebel, Queensland, Australia, on 29 May 1883. Her maternal grandparents were immigrants from Ireland. She was a sister, a wife, and a mother to 4 children.

When asked about the secret of her longevity, Lamb replied that the key is simply being happy. At the age of 105, all four of her children were alive, and she had 13 great-grandchildren and two great-great-grandchildren.

Lamb passed away at a nursing home in Mosman, New South Wales, Australia, on 25 June 1993, at the age of 110 years, 27 days. At the time of death, she was the second-oldest living person in Australia, behind Kit St. Clair.

LongeviQuest congratulates Lavalette Lamb’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Lamb’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Evelyn Vigor at 110 years old. She was an Australian supercentenarian who was the oldest living person in the state of Queensland at the time of her death.

Evelyn Vigor was born on 9 January 1906 in Laidley, Queensland, Australia. She was born prematurely that her doctor wrapped her in cotton wool and placed her in a box before telling her parents to “hope for the best.”

On her wedding day in 1931.
(Source: ABC News)

She was 23 years old when she met her future husband James Edward Vigor whom she married two years later exactly on 28 November 1931. The couple had three children together and the family engaged in farming in Memerambi.

In her 90s, she was able to recover from two separate fractured hips and overcame breast cancer at 102 years old.

Evelyn Vigor passed away on 26 April 2016 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She was 110 years old at the time of her death, making her the fourth-oldest living person in the country.

For more information, please view Evelyn Vigor’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to share that Ken Weeks, Australia’s oldest living man, turns 110 years old.

Kenneth Loxton Weeks was born on 5 October 1913 in Grafton, New South Wales, Australia.

Ken Weeks on his 110th Birthday

Ken Weeks moved to an aged care facility at Whiddon Grafton in September 2018 just before turning 105 years old. Even at the age of 110, he is still active and can walk unaided.

LongeviQuest extends our warmest congratulations to Mr. Ken Weeks for celebrating his 110^th birthday.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Frank Mawer at 110 years old. He was an Australian supercentenarian who was considered as the oldest living man in the country at the time of his demise.

Frank Mawer was born on 15 August 1912 in New South Wales, Australia.

His parents died when he was just a kid, leaving him and his three younger sisters to become wards of the state. The siblings were forced to work at an early age to earn a living. His sisters went into domestic service while he was working as a laborer on a dairy farm. A few years later, he would become an apprentice carpenter.

Pictured with his wife and children, undated.
(Source: Bega District News)

Frank Mawer married Elizabeth in 1939 shortly after the outbreak of World War II. He met her while he was working as a carpenter in Sydney while she was a secretary in the same building.

Mr. Mawer refused to join the war efforts of his country due to his religious beliefs. Instead, he worked on the construction of an ammunition storage building for the Australian Army in North Queensland.

His wife was diagnosed with dementia and his family opposed to send her into a nursing home. That is why Frank became her caretaker. The couple remained for 70 years together until Elizabeth passed away in 2009 due to breast cancer.

Shortly before his 110th birthday in 2022.
(Source: Bega District News)

Upon celebrating his 110^th birthday in August 2022, Frank became the 6^th Australian man to be a supercentenarian. Unfortunately, he contracted COVID-19 shortly after his birthday and passed away after a month.

For more information, please visit Frank Mawer’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Elizabeth Jordan at 110 years old. She was an Australian supercentenarian who was among the top five oldest living persons in the country upon her death.

Elizabeth Jordan was born on 15 January 1912 in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia.

She remembered being visited by her grandparents in a horse-drawn carriage when she was attending West Ipswich Girls’ School.

In 1936, Elizabeth married Joseph Jordan with whom she had two children with. The couple built their first home in Ebbw Vale, which is a suburb of Ipswich. Unfortunately, Mrs. Jordan lost the majority of her wedding photos after a flood destroyed her brother’s house.

Jordan as a centenarian

During her 100s, she still enjoyed indoor bowling and living independently, passing the time by knitting for her beloved grandchildren. She even entered the Ipswich Show with her crocheted items starting from the 1960s onwards. The show eventually had an award named after Elizabeth Jordan.

Elizabeth moved to an aged care facility in nearby Brassall when she was 109 years old.

Mrs. Jordan passed away on 6 March 2022 at the age of 110 years old. At the time of her death, she was recognized as one of the top five oldest living people in Australia.

For more information, please visit Elizabeth Jordan’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to share that Australia’s oldest living person, Catherina Van Der Linden, turns 111 years old. She is a Dutch-Australian supercentenarian known as the oldest living Dutch-born person as well as the oldest person in Australia. Catherina Van Der Linden was born on 26 August 1912 in Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands, as Catharina Adriana van Meegen. She grew up in Nijmegen, Gelderland.
Three days before her 28th birthday, Catherina married Johannes (John) Wouterus van der Linden on 23 August 1940. The couple had four children together. She spent her life working as a grape picker, nursing assistant, typist, and clerical assistant.

John and Catherina van der Linden with their children at Glenelg in 1958.
(Source: The Senior)

In 1955, she emigrated to Australia with her husband. However, she felt homesick, so she took their four children and returned to the Netherlands in 1958. After 18 months, the family returned to Australia and permanently settled in Adelaide.
Catherina van der Linden is currently residing in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, where she is recognized as the oldest living person in the country.
For more information, please view Catherina Van Der Linden’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is delighted to announce the age validation of Gertie Nesbitt of Australia at age 110. She was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom on 3 July 1882 and passed away in Burwood East, Victoria, Australia on 5 August 1992 at the age of 110 years. She was a devout Catholic and attended mass regularly. She worked as a milliner and a typist.

Nesbitt was 67 years old when she moved to Australia in 1949. She never married and had no children. She worked as a housekeeper for two priests from the age of 70 to 90. She lived with her niece, Sadie Ramsay, in Burwood, Victoria, until she was 106 years old. She then moved into a nursing home in Burwood East, a suburb of Melbourne. On her 110th birthday, she claimed that she had no secret for her longevity, but offered advice to young people, “Be good and kind.”

Nesbitt at the age of 110

In 1991, Nesbitt received a telegram from Australia’s then-Prime Minister Bob Hawke, congratulating her on her 109th birthday. On 30 July 1992, six days before her death, she became Australia’s oldest resident following the death of 111-year-old Beatrice Pollock. Upon her own death, the title passed to Kit St. Clair, then aged 109.

LongeviQuest congratulates Gertie Nesbitt’s family on her posthumous recognition.

For more information, please view Nesbitt’s Directory Profile here.

LongeviQuest is pleased to announce the age validation of Mary Nixon at 111 years old. She was an Australian supercentenarian who was formerly the oldest living person in the country. She was also one of the earliest documented supercentenarians in Australia.

Mary Nixon was born on 17 March 1871 in Whitmore Square, Adelaide, South Australia. After her mother passed away, she helped her father raise her seven younger siblings. Sadly, her youngest brother was killed during World War I in France in 1916.

She married a bookmaker from North Adelaide named Albert William Nixon. Their wedding was on 16 December 1890 when she was 19 years old. The couple had seven children.

Nixon (seated on the left) with her family.
(Source: Australian Family Tree
Connections Magazine)

She attributed her longevity to eating plain food, working hard, and having a tight-knit family.

Mary Nixon passed away on 10 May 1982 in North Adelaide, South Australia. At the time of her death, she was 111 years old and was survived by 32 grandchildren, 106 great-grandchildren, and 108 great-great-grandchildren.

For more information, please view Mary Nixon’s Directory Profile here.