Donald Allan Dunstan, AC, QC, was a South Australian politician. He was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979. His socially progressive administration saw Aboriginal land rights recognised, homosexuality decriminalised, and the first female judge appointed. His administration began to falter in 1978 following his dismissal of Police Commissioner Harold Salisbury. His resignation from the premiership and politics in 1979 was abrupt after collapsing due to ill health, but he lived for another 20 years. He died in Adelaide in 1979, at the age of 69.
About Don Dunstan in brief
Donald Allan Dunstan, AC, QC, was a South Australian politician. He was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979. Dunstan’s socially progressive administration saw Aboriginal land rights recognised, homosexuality decriminalised, the first female judge appointed, and the first non-British governor. His administration began to falter in 1978 following his dismissal of Police Commissioner Harold Salisbury, as controversy broke out over whether he had improperly interfered with a judicial investigation. His resignation from the premiership and politics in 1979 was abrupt after collapsing due to ill health, but he lived for another 20 years, remaining a vocal and outspoken campaigner for progressive social policy. In his youth, Dunstan was influenced by his uncle, former Liberal Mayor of Adelaide Sir Jonathan Cain, who was a supporter of the conservative Liberal Country League. He later said that his headmaster called him a ‘congenital rebel’ multiple times. In 1943, he portrayed the title role in a production of John Drinkwater’s Abraham Lincoln, and according to the school’s history and languages magazine, he was the chief contributor to the success of the play. He won a scholarship in classical studies and attended St Peter’s College, a traditional private school for the sons of the Adelaide establishment. He developed public speaking and acting skills, winning the college’s public speaking prize for two consecutive years. He lived in Murray Bridge for three years with his mother’s parents before returning to Suva for a short period during his secondary education.
His parents had moved to Fiji in 1916 after his father took up a position as manager of theelaide Steamship Company. He spent the first seven years of his life in Fiji, starting his schooling there. He completed his secondary schooling in 1943, ranking top 30 overall in the statewide matriculation examinations. In the late 1950s, he became well known for his campaign against the death penalty being imposed on Max Stuart, who had been convicted of rape and murder of a small girl, opposing then-Premier Thomas Playford IV over the matter. He also established Rundle Mall, enacted measures to protect buildings of historical heritage, and encouraging arts, with support for the Adelaide Festival Centre, the State Theatre Company and the establishment of the South Australian Film Corporation. In 1973, he lived in Glenelg with relatives and lived in the seaside suburb of GlenelG with relatives with relatives. He died in Adelaide in 1979, at the age of 69. He is survived by his wife, Ida May, and his three children, including two step-grandchildren, and a step-great-granddaughter. He had a son and a daughter, both of whom are still living in South Australia. His great-nephew, Peter, is a former member of the Australian Labor Party, and served as a member of parliament for Adelaide from 1973 to 1977. He has a son, Peter Dunstan-Smith, who served as South Australia’s Attorney-General from 1983 to 1986.
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