[1] Moorcroft was born in 1940 in the rural town of Adelaide, Eastern Cape and spent his childhood living on a family farm.
During his time at the Grootfontein College of Agriculture he served as the head of the Students Representative Council.
He then attended Rhodes University in Grahamstown, graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in 1964.
His political career began when he was elected to be the Progressive Federal Party member for Albany in the National Assembly of South Africa.
He later became a Democratic Party member of the Senate of South Africa in 1994 and continued serving until 1999 in the National Council of Provinces.