98 Facts About Don Dunstan

Donald Allan Dunstan was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979.

Don Dunstan was a member of the House of Assembly for the division of Norwood from 1953 to 1979, and leader of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party from 1967 to 1979.

Don Dunstan is the fourth longest serving premier in South Australian history.

Don Dunstan became Attorney-General after the 1965 election, and replaced the older Frank Walsh as premier in 1967.

Don Dunstan responded by increasing his attacks on the Playmander, convincing the LCL into watering down the malapportionment.

Don Dunstan enacted consumer protection laws, reformed and expanded the public education and health systems, abolished the death penalty, relaxed censorship and drinking laws, created a ministry for the environment, enacted anti-discrimination law, and implemented electoral reforms such as the overhaul of the Legislative Council, the upper house of Parliament, lowered the voting age to 18, enacted universal suffrage, and completely abolished malapportionment.

Don Dunstan 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.

The strain on Don Dunstan was increased by the death of his wife.

Don Dunstan's parents had moved to Fiji in 1916 after his father took up a position as manager of the Adelaide Steamship Company.

Don Dunstan spent the first seven years of his life in Fiji, starting his schooling there.

Don Dunstan was beset by illness, and his parents sent him to South Australia hoping the drier climate would assist his recovery.

Don Dunstan lived in Murray Bridge for three years with his mother's parents before returning to Suva for a short period during his secondary education.

Don Dunstan won a scholarship in classical studies and attended St Peter's College, a traditional private school for the sons of the Adelaide establishment.

Don Dunstan developed public speaking and acting skills, winning the college's public speaking prize for two consecutive years.

Don Dunstan completed his secondary schooling in 1943, ranking in the top 30 overall in the statewide matriculation examinations.

Don Dunstan funded his education by working in theatre and radio during his university years.

Don Dunstan eventually graduated with a double degree, with arts majors in Latin, comparative philology, history and politics, and he came first in political science.

Don Dunstan was nominated as the Labor candidate for the electoral district of Norwood at the 1953 election.

Don Dunstan's campaign was noted for his colourful methods to sway voters: posters of his face were placed on every pole in the district, and Labor supporters walked the streets advocating Dunstan.

Don Dunstan targeted in particular the large Italian migrant population of the district, distributing translated copies of a statement the sitting LCL member Roy Moir had made about immigrants.

Don Dunstan's son Andrew was born nine months after the win.

Don Dunstan was to become the most vocal opponent of the LCL Government of Sir Thomas Playford, strongly criticising its practice of electoral malapportionment, known as the Playmander, a pun on the term gerrymander.

Don Dunstan added colour and flair to debate in South Australian politics, changing the existing "gentlemanly" method of conducting parliamentary proceedings.

Don Dunstan did not fear direct confrontation with the incumbent government and attacked it with vigour.

The first parliamentarian to be expelled in years, Don Dunstan found himself on the front pages of newspapers for the first time.

The vote was split along party lines and was thus defeated, but Don Dunstan used the opportunity to attack the Playmander with much effect in the media, portraying the failed legislation as an unjust triumph of a malapportioned minority who had a vengeance mentality over an electorally repressed majority who wanted a humane outcome.

Always at the forefront, Don Dunstan lambasted the government for perceived underspending on social welfare, education, health and the arts.

In 1960, Don Dunstan became president of the State Labor Party.

Don Dunstan attempted to win the position of Opposition Leader and, failing that, Deputy Leader.

However, the "New Guard" of the party, of which Don Dunstan was a part, were determined to bring about its end.

Don Dunstan was prominent in Labor's opposition to the double standards, and called for abolition of race-based restrictions, saying that social objectives could be achieved without explicit colour-based schemes.

Don Dunstan was successful in forcing amendments to liberalise controls on property and the confinement of Indigenous Australians to Aboriginal reserves.

Don Dunstan became Attorney-General and Minister of Community Welfare and Aboriginal Affairs.

Don Dunstan was far and away the youngest member of the cabinet; he was the only minister under 50, and one of only three under 60.

Don Dunstan had a major impact on Government policy as Attorney-General.

Much of the Labor Right faction, as well as Walsh, was opposed to Don Dunstan taking the leadership, but no other MPs had the same charisma or eloquence.

However, Don Dunstan realised the futility of such a move and instead sought to humiliate the LCL into bringing an end to malapportionment.

Don Dunstan used the six weeks before the start of the new legislature to draw attention to malapportionment.

The LCL campaigned heavily on Hall, while Don Dunstan promised sweeping social reform, artistic transformation and more community services.

Don Dunstan served as his own Treasurer, and took several other portfolios for himself.

Don Dunstan formed a strong circle of loyal ministers around him, in a style radically different from his predecessors.

An appeal was made to the Federal Grants Commission, and Don Dunstan was awarded more than he had hoped for.

Don Dunstan had never been happy that governors were usually British ex-servicemen and it was a personal goal of his to see an active and notable South Australian take on the role; Sir Mark Oliphant was uneventfully sworn in.

Don Dunstan was very much against allowing Adelaide's suburbs to further sprawl, and thus Monarto was a major focus of his government.

Don Dunstan argued that the new South Eastern Freeway would allow a drive of only 45 minutes from Adelaide, that the city was not far from current industry, and that water could be readily supplied from the River Murray.

Police autonomy and powers were restricted following a rally in opposition to the Vietnam War, which was broken up by police, although Don Dunstan had wanted the demonstrators to be able to close off the street.

The dress code for the Parliament was relaxed during this period, the suit and tie was no longer seen as obligatory, and Don Dunstan himself caused media frenzy when he arrived at Parliament House in 1972 wearing pink shorts that ended above his knees.

Don Dunstan was well known for his attendance at and patronage of Cornish, Italian and Greek Australian cultural festivals and his appreciation of Asian art, and sought to build on cultural respect to create trade links with Asia.

In pursuit of economic links with the nations of South-East Asia, Don Dunstan came into contact with the leaders of the Malaysian state of Penang in 1973.

Don Dunstan called an election for March 1973, hoping to gain a mandate to seek changes to the council.

The LCL were badly disunited; the more liberal wing of the party under Hall joined Don Dunstan in wanting to introduce universal suffrage for the upper house, while the more conservative members of the LCL did not.

Don Dunstan saw reform of the Legislative Council as an important goal, and later a prime achievement, of his Government.

Don Dunstan, seeing this as unfeasible in his term, set about to reform it instead.

In 1975, Don Dunstan declared Australia's first legal nude bathing reserve.

Don Dunstan appealed to Connelly and offered him the role of Speaker.

Don Dunstan continued to try to push through further legislation; he sought to expand on the Hall Government's electoral-boundaries reform, to bring it closer to one vote one value.

Don Dunstan promised to stand on the seashore at Glenelg and wait for the imminent destruction.

In 1976, the Don Dunstan Government stepped up its legislative efforts.

Don Dunstan did not resign and kept a low profile from then on.

Don Dunstan appointed Dame Roma Mitchell to become the nation's first female Supreme Court judge.

Don Dunstan broke new ground in Australian politics with his policies on native title for Aboriginal people.

Don Dunstan agreed to an investigation, and subsequently introduced the Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Bill.

Don Dunstan called another snap election in September at the 1977 election; he hoped to recover from the previous election, the outcome of which had been affected by the dismissal of the Federal Labor Government.

Don Dunstan had known of the existence of the branch since 1970, but said that he had been assured by the police commissioner that its files were not systematically focused on left-wing political figures.

However, Peter Ward, a journalist and former Don Dunstan staffer, published a story about the files.

The report noted that the files overwhelmingly focused on left-wing politicians and activists, and that Don Dunstan had been misled by the Police Commissioner, Harold Salisbury.

Ward claimed that Don Dunstan had known about the true contents of the files for several years.

Don Dunstan had sacked Salisbury for misleading Parliament about the existence of the "pink files" and many of the Special Branch files were burnt.

Towards the end of the year, political and media scrutiny of Don Dunstan began to grow, and he became uneasy in his dealings with the press.

Don Dunstan was opposed to uranium mining but was seen as lacking conviction by environmentalists, and he was being criticised by industrialists.

Together with Mike Rann, his press secretary and speechwriter, who had worked with him in 1978 on a series of speeches on Aboriginal Land Rights, industrial democracy and women's rights, Don Dunstan made a uranium fact-finding trip to Europe to study safe methods of generating nuclear power and of nuclear waste disposal.

At the subsequent Norwood by-election, Don Dunstan's seat was retained by Labor.

Don Dunstan took a trip to Europe after being released from hospital, staying in Perugia for five months and pursuing Italian studies.

Don Dunstan subsequently returned home and lived quietly in Adelaide for three years without finding work that appealed to him, such as that related to the shaping of public policy.

Don Dunstan said that public figures in South Australia had told him his high profile and ability to overshadow others could have caused a loss of face to them, and thus his departure would be seen favourably by them, while Victoria's offer gave him an opportunity to be constructive.

Don Dunstan was appointed to the Victorian Economic Development Corporation on 12 July 1983, resigning on 23 June 1986.

Don Dunstan stayed in the Director of Tourism role until 1986, when he returned to Adelaide after falling out with the government of John Cain.

Don Dunstan was the national president of the Freedom from Hunger Campaign, president of the Movement for Democracy in Fiji, and national chairman of Community Aid Abroad.

Don Dunstan was an adjunct professor at the University of Adelaide from 1997 to 1999 and portrayed himself in the 1989 Australian independent film Against the Innocent.

Don Dunstan remained an advocate for multiculturalism and cultural diversity, often writing about the dangers of racism.

Regardless of the acclaim in which he was held during his decade in power, Don Dunstan was largely overlooked for honours after leaving office and largely ignored by the state's elite.

Don Dunstan was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in June 1979, but no national parks or gardens were named after him.

The Don Dunstan Playhouse was later named to honour his contribution to the performing arts.

Whilst living in Norwood and studying at university, Don Dunstan met his first wife, Gretel Elsasser, whose Jewish family had fled Nazi Germany to Australia.

The family was forced to live in squalor for a number of years while Don Dunstan established his legal practice; during this time, they took in boarders as a source of extra income.

In 1972, Don Dunstan separated from his wife and moved into a small flat in Kent Town, adjacent to Norwood.

Don Dunstan bought another house in 1974, partially financed from a then-unpublished cookbook.

Don Dunstan promoted the viticulture industry through his patronage of wine festivals.

Don Dunstan had been expelled by the Singaporean Government of Lee Kuan Yew for criticising its policies.

Don Dunstan was much older than Adele, who was in her 30s.

Don Dunstan was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in May 1978, and died in October after Dunstan had cared for her at her bedside for months.

Don Dunstan lived with Cheng in their Norwood home for the rest of his life.

In 1993, Don Dunstan was diagnosed with an aggressive throat cancer and then an inoperable lung cancer, which led to his death on 6 February 1999.

Don Dunstan was not a smoker but was long exposed to passive smoking.

The Electoral Commission of South Australia's 2012 redistribution included renaming the seat of Norwood to Don Dunstan which came into existence as of the 2014 election.

In 1988, Dunstan donated a collection of files pertaining to his political, professional and personal life; photographs; press clippings; speeches and press releases; audiovisual material; books from his library; some items of clothing; and other memorabilia to Flinders University Library, where it can be viewed and accessed for research purposes.

The Don Dunstan Foundation was established by Dunstan at the University of Adelaide in 1999, shortly before his death, to push for progressive change and to honour Dunstan's memory.

Don Dunstan had spent his last months helping to lay the platform for its establishment.