His father was William Locke Brockman and his mother, Ann Frances Elizabeth née Hamersley.

On 24 October 1884, he was elected to the Western Australian Legislative Council seat of Swan.

From 1886, he had invested heavily in the Midland Railway, ultimately suffering heavy losses.

In 1893 he was elected Mayor of Gingin, which position he held until 1903, when he sold his land and retired to Perth.

On 19 March 1874, he married Anna Louisa de Burgh in a ceremony at Guildford, Western Australia; he would later become brother-in-law to Charles Harper and James Morrison.