Bill Grayden, a decorated World War II veteran and Western Australia’s longest-serving MP, has passed away aged 105.
Born in Perth in 1920, Grayden is being remembered for being “a doer, not a talker” and his “lifetime of selfless service”.
Grayden was dedicated to serving his country, and even lied about his age to enlist when World War II broke out. He was commissioned as an officer in the Australian Imperial Force in 1940.
“War had been declared, Britain was at war and, as far as I was concerned, it was simply an obligation,” Grayden told the ABC in 2015.
He had spent time in Syria and the Middle East before being sent to Papua New Guinea’s Kokoda Tail, where he was briefly reported dead when he fell unconscious after his “whole brigade had been decimated”.
“I must have been unconscious for a while, because when I picked myself up and clambered back up top … they’d reported to battalion headquarters that I’d been killed,” he said in the 2015 interview.
Grayden was discharged in 1946 and began his career in politics the following year, after being elected to the seat of Middle Swan.
He resigned in 1949 to run for the federal seat of Swan, and after being elected, became a member of Robert Menzies’ government.
During his time, he was interested in the welfare of Indigenous Australians.
“He led a trip to the Warburton area and reported on conditions there, which certainly was eyebrow-raising back then, as it should be now,” WA political journalist Peter Kennedy said.
In 1956, Grayden led an inquiry into First Nations conditions, with his film later credited as instrumental in the 1967 Referendum on Aboriginal citizenship.
He returned to state politics that same year and won the seat of South Perth, which he held until his retirement in 1993.
“One of Bill Grayden’s strengths was that he was really a knockabout sort of guy,” Kennedy recalled.
“He didn’t hold back when it came to challenges, and when he got into parliament, both at the federal and the state level, he was equal to the task.”
Grayden spent 43 years in government in total and is recognised as WA’s longest serving MP.
In 1949, the same year he ran for the federal seat, he married his wife Betsy and they had 10 children, 36 grandchildren and 50 great-grandchildren. Betsy died in 2007.
His son, James Grayden, released a statement on behalf of his family.
“He was a doer, not a talker, and if he set his mind to a task he would see it through whatever the odds,” he said.
“He instilled in all of us a love of the outdoors and nature and for seeing what was around the next corner.
“His curiosity and readiness to adopt emerging technology remained with him to the end, and he was fascinated with the possibility of driverless cars giving him back the freedom he gave up when he was unable to renew his driver’s licence in his mid-90s.”
WA Governor Chris Dawson has also paid tribute to the war veteran, thanking him for his dedication to serving his community and his country.
“When I visited with Bill in January, to thank him on behalf of the people of WA, he was typically humble about his contribution to his state and his nation,” Dawson said.
“However, he leaves a legacy of public service which is unlikely ever to be matched.
“We honour and thank Bill for his lifetime of selfless service.”
Image: Grayden family/ ABC
