Family gets closure on father's 1953 disappearance

Donald Gordon Buckley was about 24 years old when he left his home in Warwick Farm in Sydney's west in 1953.

An appeal launched in October to determine his whereabouts prompted a member of the public to contact police.

"Inquiries have subsequently established that the man changed his identity and died from natural causes in 1980 at Moree," NSW Police said in a statement on Tuesday.

When he vanished Mr Buckley had been working as a labourer and was married with two toddler sons and a baby daughter.

After some minor correspondence in 1954, there was no further contact since.

But he was not reported missing to police until this year.

"There is no doubt that this is an unusual set of circumstances in that the missing person report wasn't lodged until 70 years after he was last seen but that doesn't prevent us from investigating this matter," Inspector Jason Pietruszka said in October.

"It appears there may have been some marital problems which prompted him to leave the family home."

Australian Associated Press