Port Fairy's Garry Lockett is really sold on his town

Wife: Lauri.

Children: Damon, Robbie, Michael and Jordan.

Parents: Russell and Ethel.

Siblings: Fay, Wendy, Rick and David.

Education: Invermay Primary School followed by North Ballarat Technical School and then Ballarat High School.

Sporting highlight: Einning a cross-country running event against inter-schools around Ballarat at 16 years old.

Garry, what are your memories of growing up in Ballarat?

My parents had a farm which comprised of 100 acres. It was on the outskirts of Ballarat.

I can vividly remember walking through paddocks to get to school. Dad used to have a machinery business.

My footy career started when I was 12 years old as I played in the under 16 side for North Ballarat.

My footy career came to an end in the under 18s when I sustained a back injury. My back just locked down. It was back in 1962 they wanted to operate on my back but I never wanted a back operation.

I'm glad I never had an operation but I've suffered with lower back problems all my life since that day on the footy field at North Ballarat.

Once your footy career was over what did you focus your attention on?

I concentrated on my music. I got involved in music at a very young age and was semi-professional from the age of 14 till I was 50 years old.

The instruments I focused on were the piano and the drums. For years and years we played at Warrnambool's Mid-City Hotel on Saturday nights and over the summer months.

I've got wonderful memories of those days playing in bands with Joe Willis and Peter Bird.

We also had Peter Brockhurst with his brilliant voice singing wonderful songs. We played in every licensed premises in Warrnambool over many years.

When did you move to Warrnambool?

It was back in 1966. I had been working in the law department in Melbourne and a job came up as a clerk of courts in Warrnambool.

For a few years I worked in the court system in Warrnambool and then I was offered a promotion to the Coroners Court in Melbourne but I knocked back the job. I wanted to stay in Warrnambool.

Bob Coles who had a real estate business in Warrnambool offered me a job in the early 1970s and I ended up getting my full real estate licence which I've held for just over 50 years.

My first real estate office was in Kepler Street before moving to Fairy Street and then I decided to open another office in Port Fairy.

Marty Hearn was my branch manager in Port Fairy. I drove across from Warrnambool to Port Fairy for a few years before deciding to live in Port Fairy with my family.

Garry, you've been involved in numerous community activities in Port Fairy and one of those was the players' advocate for footballers who had to front the tribunal. What are your memories of the tribunal days?

They were funny days. I put my hand up to be the players' advocate because of my background in law. I had a pretty good understanding of legal proceedings.

I never went to Port Fairy games on Saturdays. I just wanted to help out from the sidelines as their players' advocate.

Ron Wearmouth was the Port Fairy coach back in that era. I've got fond memories of representing players like Jamie Squires, Howard Sharp and Danny Lane at tribunal hearings.

They were funny times as we used to discuss what the players would say while we were driving down to Terang for the hearings.

I've also been heavily involved with Reg Harry in the Moyneyana Festival on New Years Eve doing the broadcast of the floats down Sackville Street for nearly 20 years.

The Moyneyana Festival is a wonderful event for Port Fairy with numerous community groups giving support to the festival.

COVID has impacted on the festival over the past couple of years but we've got our fingers crossed it will be another successful event this year.

I had a stint as the president of the Port Fairy Hospital. I've watched the Port Fairy Hospital and Moyne Health grow over the years.

The facilities are a wonderful asset to people of Port Fairy and the local area.

Let's talk about real estate for a minute. Can you remember what the cost of a house was in Port Fairy when you started selling property in the town?

The average house price in Port Fairy used to sell for $25,000 back in 1970. House prices in Port Fairy had a big jump from 2000 to 2004 but they dropped off in 2005 and 2006.

They have had an upward spiral for the last five years. The sad thing is the bottom line for buying a house in Port Fairy is now about $800,000 and that has forced young people to look elsewhere to purchase a house.

I think the prices of property across the board will level out now as it appears there's going to be a few interest rate rises, but Port Fairy is in a unique situation as it's grid-locked and is in high demand with the hot spots being the Moyne River, the central area and the East Beach.

How many properties would have you sold in Port Fairy during your working career?

It's just under 2000 properties in the 50 years. I still love being involved in the real estate industry.

I head into the office each day and at this stage I've got no thought of retiring and once I do retire, Paula Dwyer is there to take over from me.

Paula has been a great asset to the business.

Garry, you and your family suffered the worst nightmare when your son Michael was killed in a car accident on the highway. What year did that accident occur?

It was in June 1989 and Michael was only a few weeks short of his 21st birthday. It's something that you never get over.

Michael is remembered as a kind, caring and considerate person.

He was heavily involved in the local community and to this day there are three Michael Lockett awards in the town.

The first is at the surf club while the others are at the Port Fairy Consolidated School and St Patrick's Primary School.