08/05/2026
A wonderful tribute.
Vale Bill Grayden
Bill Grayden was the first Member of Parliament I ever knew.
When I was child, he was the man who stood at the front of official ceremonies like school graduations and ANZAC Day services, looking out at us with kind eyes and a fierce intelligence. Without realising it at the time, he became the standard by which I would judge every politician I’ve met since. It was, and still remains, a very high bar.
Others will speak of Bill’s military service and of his role in forging better relationships between white and Indigenous Australians. He fought on the Kokoda Track, enduring intense jungle and mountain warfare. In 1956, he made a documentary exposing the effects of the Maralinga atomic bomb tests on local Indigenous communities, which birthed a movement of activist documentary films in Australia. These are just a few of the extraordinary achievements during his long life.
That same year of 1956, Bill contested the seat of South Perth as an independent, defeating the Liberal candidate and beginning what would become an extraordinary parliamentary career. He served for thirty-seven years! More than three decades of commitment to one community, spanning an era from before television to after the advent of the internet.
In that time South Perth transformed from a quaint suburb to a central part of Perth, shaped by developments like the Narrows Bridge and the Freeway linking the southern suburbs to the city. As a kid, I saw Bill’s name on foundation stones of many buildings, physical markers of his service and influence. His legacy remains visible today, including the Bill Grayden Reserve on Thelma Street in Como, named in recognition of his contribution.
As the oldest resident of South Perth, I sent Bill a birthday card every year. During the last election campaign, I was a bit worried when he wasn’t well enough to come to the door.
When I learned of Bill’s passing, I rang John McGrath, also a former member for South Perth. John spoke of Bill as an extraordinary individual and an extraordinary West Australian, who had become synonymous with South Perth itself.
Bill lived here for most of his life. He raised his 10 children here and was deeply embedded in our community. Even in recent years, it was common to run into him at the Royal Perth Golf Course or in the Parliament House dining room.
Bill’s life, his service, and his contribution to South Perth, and to Australia will be remembered here for a very long time.
