Vale Dr Grahame Budd AM
From the President of the ANARE Club David Dodd. It is with deep regret that the Club announces the passing of Dr Grahame Budd AM on 7 June 2025.
A formal tribute from the Club will be made at a funeral / memorial service to held towards the end of the month
| Station | Year | Season |
| Heard Island | 1954 | Winter |
| Mawson | 1959 | Winter |
In total, Dr Grahame Budd took part in 12 Antarctic expeditions from 1954 – 2012, having participated in eight Heard Island expeditions.
– Notified by email from Michael Dillon, 8 June 2025
Dr Grahame Budd AM
Medical Officer and Officer-in-Charge, Heard Island 1954.
Medical Officer, Mawson 1959
Grahame was the last member of the original expeditioner teams which operated Heard Island from 1947-1955 and was the Officer-in-Charge of the 1954/55 ANARE team which closed down the Station in March 1955. Apart from making 8 visits to Heard Island in subsequent years, he was a member of the 5-man climbing team which made the first ascent of Mawson’s Peak on top of the Big Ben Massif on 25 January 1965, commemorated by Australia Post with the special 60th anniversary envelope in January 2025. This historic ascent has been featured in ANARE Club member Michael Dillon’s ‘Great White Whale’ production which has been recently shown around Australia.
A video of Grahame’s Life and Times has just been completed and will be available on the Club website shortly.
A formal tribute from the Club will be made at a funeral / memorial service to held towards the end of the month.
David Dodd, President.
Commitment to the ANARE Club
Dr Grahame Budd AM joined the ANARE Club in 1960 and was a member for 65 years.
The Phillip Law Medal was awarded to Grahame Budd on 17 August 2024.
Contributions to Aurora Journal
ARTICLE TITLE |
AUTHOR |
VOL |
NO |
PAGE |
Journal Link |
| The ‘Help’ sign at Long Beach | Grahame Budd | 8 | 2 | 5 | Aurora Journal Summer 1988 |
| A Lust for Cocoa | Grahame Budd | 20 | 2 | 30 | Aurora Journal Summer 2000 |
| A Short Walk at Heard Island – ANARE 1969 | Grahame Budd | 18 | 2 | 13 | Aurora Journal Winter 1998 |
| Big Ben from south west, with Heard Island cormorants 2002 | Grahame Budd | 30 | 3 | Front Cover | Aurora Journal Autumn 2011 |
| Grahame Budd Heard Island – November 2012 | Grahame Budd | 32 | 3 | 11 | Aurora Journal Autumn 2013 |
| Dick Thompson awarded Order of Australia Medal | Grahame Budd, Joe Johnson | 34 | 4 | 2 | Aurora Journal Winter 2015 |
Awards and Recognition
| Award | Year |
| Polar Medal | 1969 |
| Member of the Order of Australia | 2004 |
| Phillip Law Medal (ANARE Club) | 2024 |
Antarctic Place Names
Budd Peak – A peak on Heard Island which is about 2316 m above sea level and about 3.3 km east-south-east of Mawson Peak. It is named after Dr Grahame M Budd, Officer-in-Charge 1954 ANARE Heard Island Expedition and leader of the 1963 ANARE Heard Island Expedition. [Reference]
Budd Pass – A pass on Heard Island at about 1220 m above sea level in the rock ridge extending south west from Budd Peak.Expedition. Named after Dr Grahame M Budd, Officer-in-Charge 1954 ANARE Heard Island Expedition and leader of the 1963 ANARE Heard Island. [Reference]
Budd Bay – McDonald Island. The volcanic activity in 2000 extinguished the tarns named after Professor Budd so the decision was made at the 2006 AANMC meeting to name a new bay formed by the volcanic activity Budd Bay. The bay is just to the south east of where the tarns used to be. It is the bay to the north of Williams Bay. The original narrative for the extinguished tarns was: A group of five small freshwater lakes in the central part of McDonald Island. Although brackish, these tarns are an available source of water on the Island. Named after Professor Grahame M Budd, (then) Commonwealth Institute of Health, who briefly landed on the Island in 1971 from a helicopter, and who published the first scientific reports from observations on the Island. [Reference]
Budd Ridge – A high rock ridge running between Budd Pass and Budd Peak on Heard Island. Named for Dr Grahame M Budd was Officer-in-Charge of the 1954 ANARE Heard Island Expedition, Leader of the 1963 ANARE expedition and a member of the 1965 expedition which climbed Big Ben. [Reference]
East Budd Island – The eastern of the two larger islands at the northern end of the Flat Islands. Plotted from ANARE air photographs and ground survey. Named for Dr. Grahame Budd, medical officer at Mawson in 1959. [Reference]
West Budd Island – The western of the two larger islands at the northern end of the Flat Islands, about 4 km north-west of Mawson station. Plotted from ANARE air photographs. Named for Dr. Grahame M. Budd, medical officer at Mawson in 1959. [Reference]
