Although an accomplished painter of portraits and still life subjects, he is best known for his landscapes; a follower of the Heidelberg School.

[2] He was the first son of five boys and three girls of Harry Amos Buckmaster (d. 26 June 1938),[3] straw-hat manufacturer, and his wife Letitia Martha née Chandler (c. 1873–19 October 1953).

[4][1][5][6] He attended a state primary school at Box Hill where he showed drawing skills at an early age.

His life was challenged on enough occasions, having nearly drowned as a child, attacked by a cow, chased by a bull, almost fell from a roof, and motor vehicle incidents.

[7] He emerged as an accomplished painter of traditional portraits, still lifes and landscapes with a substantial work-rate and output.

[10] His work is popular in Australia and New Zealand where public art galleries and private collectors hold examples of his paintings.

[7] His portrait of the lieutenant-governor of Victoria, Sir William Irvine, won the Archibald Prize for 1932.

[19] Standing 5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m) height and 10 stone 1 pound (64 kg) weight and now living at Bailey Road, Mount Evelyn with his second wife and three young children,[20] Buckmaster became a Second World War official war artist for the Australian military's Military History Section.

Aged 38, Buckmaster married Dorothy Laura Cook on Wednesday 12 February 1936 at the chapel of the Methodist Ladies' College, Melbourne.

[23] Now living at Riddell Parade, Elsternwick, Melbourne, after two years, Buckmaster was divorced by his wife on Monday 14 November 1938 on the grounds of repeated acts of misconduct.

[12] Buckmaster's self-portrait, which was a finalist in the 1936 Archibald Prize,[19] is in the Art Gallery of New South Wales.