Grayden was a backbencher in federal parliament, but later held ministerial office in the state government of Charles Court (1974–1978, 1980–1982).

He was one of three children born to Ethel May Harper and Aubrey Leonard Ives, including his younger brother David who also entered politics.

[1][2] Grayden's father participated in the landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, and lost a lung after being shot by a Turkish sniper.

Grayden joined the 2/16th Infantry Battalion as a private, but was soon promoted to corporal and then selected to attend Officer Training School in Bonegilla.

It visited the area around the Rawlinson Ranges and returned with various indigenous and non-indigenous artefacts, though none linked to Leichhardt.

In 1956, he told parliament that the British nuclear tests at Maralinga "could mean death from sickness or starvation to 800 tribal aborigines", and that it would be difficult to warn them due to their nomadic nature.

The latter contributed to a national movement campaigning for the rights of Indigenous Australians, including the formation of what is now known as Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI).

[11] In February 1957, disappointed by the public reaction to the report, Grayden and Aboriginal pastor Douglas Nicholls returned to Ngaanyatjarra with a film camera to document the conditions.

[12] In 1974, Grayden was appointed Minister for Labour and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Immigration and Tourism in the government of Charles Court.

[14] Grayden resigned from the ministry in 1978 following "an early-morning fracas involving two policemen in a Perth hotel", as a result of which he was convicted of assault and wilful damage.

[4][3] In 2015, aged 94, Grayden visited Gallipoli to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove, which his father had participated in.