Don Dunstan
Donald Allan "Don" Dunstan AC, QC (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was a South Australian politician. He was the leader of the state's Labor Party from 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.
Don Dunstan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 35th Premier of South Australia Elections: 1968, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1977 | |
| In office 1 June 1967 – 17 April 1968 | |
| Deputy | Des Corcoran |
| Preceded by | Frank Walsh |
| Succeeded by | Steele Hall |
| In office 2 June 1970 – 15 February 1979 | |
| Deputy | Des Corcoran |
| Preceded by | Steele Hall |
| Succeeded by | Des Corcoran |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 September 1926 Suva, Fiji |
| Died | 6 February 1999 (aged 72) Norwood, Adelaide |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
Early life
Dunstan was born in Fiji to a rich Australian couple.[1][2] He moved to Adelaide when he was a teenager. He moved to go to school on a scholarship. He later studied law and arts at the University of Adelaide.[3]
Career
He entered politics in 1953. He got a seat in the South Australian parliament at the age of 26.[4] He became well known for his campaign against the death penalty during the 1950s, and his status in the Labor Party rose quickly. As a member of the opposition, he was able to get the parliament to pass changes to Aboriginal civil rights. He was also an important figure in his party's abandoning the White Australia Policy.[1][5]
Dunstan was a socially progressive premier. His government recognised native title over Aboriginal lands,[6] decriminalised (made legal) homosexuality, and abolished the death penalty.[3] Appointed during his term were the first female judge,[5] the first non-British governor, and later,[2][7] the first indigenous governor.[1] Dunstan also relaxed censorship and drinking laws in the state, created a ministry for the environment, and made laws against discrimination. His nine years in office during the 1970s are remembered as the Dunstan Decade. However, there were also problems: the state's economic growth began to slow down, and led to major infrastructure plans being abandoned. Unemployment in South Australia began to rise, as well as rumours of corruption. Dunstan became strained after the death of his wife, and he suddenly resigned from the premiership in 1979 after collapsing from illness. He lived for another two decades, and remained very outspoken in public about social policies.
Don Dunstan Media
Don Dunstan (1926-1999) at a young age
A 1963 black and white portrait of Don Dunstan, MP for Norwood
The South Australian Parliament House, situated on the cultural boulevard of North Terrace
The South Australian House of Assembly. The Assembly's composition was radically altered after changes were made to electoral legislation, abolishing the electoral malapportionment of the "Playmander".
Dunstan with Des Corcoran in April 1971
The Adelaide Festival Centre. A 620-seat theatre in the complex is named the "Dunstan Playhouse" in his honour.
Mark Oliphant, the first Governor of South Australia to be appointed on Dunstan's recommendation
Dunstan meeting with Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in Canberra in 1973
.jpg)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Milliken, Robert (17 February 1999). Obituary: Don Dunstan. London. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-don-dunstan-1071332.html. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Whitelock, Derek (2000). Adelaide : a sense of difference. Kew, Victoria: Arcadia. pp. 137-143isbn=1-875606-57-2.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Yeeles, Richard (1978). Don Dunstan: The first 25 years in Parliament. Hill of Content Publishing. pp. 15, 51. ISBN 0-85572-099-9.
- ↑ "Norwood Electorate Profile". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 21 April 2006. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Donald Allan Dunstan". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 6 February 1999. Archived from the original on 10 May 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
- ↑ Summers, John (1986). "Aborigines and Government in the Twentieth Century". In Richard, Eric (ed.). The Flinders history of South Australia. Social history. Netley, South Australia: Wakefield Press. pp. 488–512. ISBN 0-949268-51-8.
- ↑ Dunstan, Don (1981). Felicia: The Political Memoirs of Don Dunstan. Griffin Press Limited. pp. 186–187. ISBN 0-333-33815-4.
Other websites
- Past Premier profile: SA Parliament Archived 2009-09-15 at the Wayback Machine
- Don Dunstan Foundation
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Frank Walsh |
Premier of South Australia 1967 – 1968 |
Succeeded by Steele Hall |
| Treasurer of South Australia 1967 – 1968 |
Succeeded by Glen Pearson | |
| Preceded by Steele Hall |
Leader of the Opposition of South Australia 1968 – 1970 |
Succeeded by Steele Hall |
| Preceded by Steele Hall |
Premier of South Australia 1970 – 1979 |
Succeeded by Des Corcoran |
| Treasurer of South Australia 1970 – 1979 | ||
| Preceded by Len King |
Attorney-General of South Australia 1975 |
Succeeded by Peter Duncan |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Frank Walsh |
Leader of the Australian Labor Party in South Australia 1967 – 1979 |
Succeeded by Des Corcoran |