Paul Lockyer

Paul James Lockyer (27 April 1950 – 18 August 2011 ) was an Australian television journalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Nine Network who was known for his reporting on rural and regional Australia. Lockyer and two colleagues died in a helicopter accident while on assignment filming a story about Lake Eyre, South Australia.

Early years and background Lockyer was the younger of two sons of Nona and Norman Lockyer. He was born and grew up on a farm near Corrigin, about east of Perth. He later boarded at Aquinas College in Perth where he played hockey.

Career In 1969 at age 19, Lockyer became a cadet journalist with the Perth office of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), before moving to Sydney and then Canberra in the mid-1970s. In 1979 Lockyer became an ABC correspondent in Port Moresby and then Jakarta before a three-year posting in Bangkok. It was during this period that he reported on events following the Vietnam War and the Khmer Rouge killing fields. Lockyer's reporting on a drought in eastern Australia in 1994 for A Current Affair was credited for inspiring the Farmhand Appeal. He worked across a range of programs for the network including Sunday, Midday, and the Wide World of Sports.

After returning to the ABC in 1999, He later led ABC TV News coverage of the 2004 Athens Olympics and reported on the 2008 Beijing Olympics for the 7.30 Report. In 2005, Lockyer was the presenter for the ABC television news in Western Australia. Lockyer also provided in depth coverage of the impact of Cyclone Yasi.

Death On 18 August 2011, Lockyer and two fellow ABC employees, pilot Gary Ticehurst and cameraman John Bean, died in a helicopter crash on the eastern shore of Lake Eyre in South Australia. The trio were on assignment filming a story about the lake. The aircraft was an Aérospatiale Industries AS355F2 helicopter owned by the ABC. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau conducted an investigation into the fatal accident, finding the probable cause to be spatial disorientation of the pilot, during a period of high workload shortly after taking off for a VFR flight on a dark night. The accident was the first fatal accident involving a twin-engine helicopter in Australia since 1986.

The renowned artist John Olsen, who was a regular visitor to Lake Eyre, had been invited to be a member of the helicopter party, but declined due to ill-health. He later offered a painting and a poem in memory of those killed.

Personal life One of Lockyer's two sons, Nick, is a sports journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Selected works

Tribute works