Person
Grey, Kathleen (Kath) (1946 - 2026)
- Born
- 1946
Blackpool, United Kingdom - Died
- August 2026
Perth, Western Australia, Australia - Occupation
- Palaeogeologist and Palaeontologist
Summary
Kath Grey was a palaeontologist internationally recognised as an authority in Precambrian palaeontology and stratigraphy. Her research on microbialites (especially stromatolites) and microfossils transformed our understanding of some of Australia's oldest evidence of life. She recorded observations of stromatolites from over 1,000 locations. Together with her detailed studies of Precambrian organic-walled microfossils, she provided the basis for interpreting the age, environment and correlation of numerous ancient sedimentary successions. Her research on Australian Ediacaran palynology provided a biostratigraphic framework with applications well beyond individual geological basins. She published prolifically and described more than 100 new species. Having joined the Geological Survey of Western Australia in 1971 in an editorial role, Gates retired from the survey in 2013 as Chief Palaeontologist. During this time she coped with the difficulties of fieldwork in remote regions, and the barriers and setbacks faced by women in a largely male-dominated profession. She was committed to site conservation and geoheritage, spearheading the Survey's program to preserve key early life sites as State Geoheritage Reserves. In retirement, Gates continued to work on Survey projects, particularly in the Amadeus Basin.
Details
Chronology
- 1969
- Education - BSc, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
- 1971
- Career event - Appointed Editor, Geological Survey of Western Australia
- 1971
- Life event - Migrated to Western Australia
- 1971
- Education - MSc, university of Sheffield, United Kingdom
- 1998
- Education - PhD, Macquarie University
- 2003
- Award - Gibb Maitland Medal, Western Australian Division, Geological Society of Australia
- 2013
- Career event - Retired as Chief Palaeontologist, Geological Survey of Western Australia
- 2019
- Award - Robert Etheridge Jr Medal, Australasian Palaeontologists
Related entries
Published resources
Books
- Fedonkin, Mikhail A., Gehling, James G., Grey, Kathleen, Narbonne, Guy M. and Vickers-Rich, Patricia, The rise of animals: evolution and diversification of the kingdom Animalia (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), 326 pp. Details
- Grey, Kathleen, Ediacaran palynology of Australia (Canberra: Association of Australasian Palaeontologists, 2005). Details
- Grey, Kathleen [and others], Management plan for state geoheritage reserves (East Perth: Geological Survey of Western Australia, 2010), 23 pp. Details
- Grey, Kathleen and Awramik, Stanley, Handbook for the study and description of microbialites (East Perth: Geological Survey of Western Australia, 2020), 278 pp. Details
Journal Articles
- Allen, Heidi and Martin, Sarah, 'Kathleen Grey - palaeontologist, geologist, trailblazer and pioneer of Precambrian palaeontology', TAG: the Australian geologist, 291 (2026), 63-5. Details
- Allen, Heidi J. and Martin, Sarah K., 'From Alcheringa to beyond: 50 years of microbialite research in Western Australia', Alcheringa, 50 (2026), 1-85, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/03115518.2026.2718451?needAccess=true. Details
- Grey, K., Moore, l. S., Burne, R. V., Pierson, B. K. and Bauld, J., 'Lake Thetis, Western Australia: an example of saline lake sedimentation dominated by benthic microbial processes', Marine and Freshwater Research, 41 (2) (1990), 275-300, https://doi.org/10.1071/MF9900275. Details
- Grey, Kathleen, 'Aspects of Proterozoic stomatolite biostratigraphy in Western Australia', Precambrian research, 18 (4) (1982), 347-65, https://doi.org/10.1016/0301-9268(82)90008-0. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 22 October 2026