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The Honourable

Don Dunstan

AC, QC
The Honourable; Don Dunstan; AC, QC
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

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.

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.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 Milliken, Robert (17 February 1999). "Obituary: Don Dunstan". The Independent. London. 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
Preceded by Frank Walsh	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
Preceded by Steele Hall	Treasurer of South Australia 1970 – 1979	Succeeded by Des Corcoran
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