| Grace Bussell | |
| Birth Date: | 23 September 1860 |
| Birth Place: | near Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia |
| Death Place: | Guildford, Western Australia, Australia |
| Resting Place: | Guildford Cemetery |
| Other Names: | Grace Vernon Drake-Brockman |
| Spouse: | Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman (m.1880–1917; his death) |
| Children: | 7, including Edmund and Deborah |
| Parents: | Ellen (née Heppingstone) and Alfred Pickmore Bussell |
| Relatives: | John Bussell (uncle), John Winthrop Hackett (son-in-law) |
| Awards: | Royal Humane Society Silver Medal |
Grace Vernon Drake-Brockman (née Bussell; 23 September 1860 – 7 October 1935), commonly referred to as Grace Bussell, was a woman from Western Australia. In 1876, as a 16-year-old, she was involved with Sam Isaacs in the rescue of, for which she was awarded the Royal Humane Society's Silver Medal.
Bussell was born to the well-known and prosperous Bussell family. At age 7, she discovered Wallcliffe cave.
Lauded by the press at the time of the rescue (in which Aboriginal stockman Sam Isaacs was also involved), she became known as 'The Grace Darling of the West', (after an Englishwoman who had rescued people in similar circumstances). She was awarded a silver medal by the Royal Humane Society,[1] and also a gold watch and chain from the British Government.
According to an account in the local Inquirer and Commercial News,[2]
According to an account by Isaacs' friend, as recounted by the friend's grandson:[3]
She married Frederick Slade Drake-Brockman (1857 - 1917) in 1880; he served as Surveyor General of Western Australia from 1915 to 1917. They had three daughters and four sons, including Edmund (1884 - 1949), Geoffrey (1885 - 1977),[4] and Deborah (1887 - 1965).
She died aged 75 in Guildford, Western Australia.[5]
Bussell is commemorated by several places named in her honour. One of these is the coastal hamlet of Gracetown, Western Australia, north of Margaret River. Another is the Western Australian wheatbelt town of Lake Grace.[6] Both of these were named after her by her husband. Additionally, Bussell Crescent in the Canberra suburb of Cook is named after her.[7]