Ada Stockdale was born in Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, on 14 February 1885, to parents Henry and Mary Wright. She began working at the age of 12 in Harrogate, earning just £5 a year. She married Thomas Stockdale in 1908, and had one son, Sid, who was in his mid eighties at the time of his mother’s 111th birthday.

At the age of 92, she emigrated to Australia, where she would remain for the rest of her life. In 1986, Stockdale and her son were welcomed as guests to Canberra by then-Liberal MP for Moreton, Don Cameron, to celebrate Stockdale’s 101st birthday. Four years later, at the age of 105, she visited Parliament House in Canberra with her son Sid, who was aged 81 at that time. On 8 December 1995, following the death of 110-year old Ada Cleggett, she became the oldest living person in Australia.

Ada Stockdale died in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, on 24 June 1996, at the age of 111 years, 131 days.