David Tonkin
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The Honourable Dr. David Tonkin AO |
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| 38th Premier of South Australia Elections: 1977, 1979, 1982 |
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In office 18 September 1979 – 10 November 1982 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor |
Sir Keith Seaman Sir Donald Dunstan |
| Deputy | Roger Goldsworthy |
| Preceded by | Des Corcoran |
| Succeeded by | John Bannon |
| Treasurer of South Australia | |
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In office 18 September 1979 – 10 November 1982 |
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| Premier | David Tonkin |
| Preceded by | Des Corcoran |
| Succeeded by | John Bannon |
| 30th Leader of the Opposition (SA) | |
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In office 1975 – 18 September 1979 |
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| Deputy | Roger Goldsworthy |
| Preceded by | Bruce Eastick |
| Succeeded by | John Bannon |
| Member of Parliament for Bragg |
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In office 30 May 1970 – 14 May 1983 |
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| Preceded by | New seat |
| Succeeded by | Graham Ingerson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
20 July 1929 Unley, South Australia |
| Died | 2 October 2000 (aged 71) Mengler Hill, South Australia |
| Nationality | Australian 
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| Political party | Liberal Party of Australia (SA) |
| Parents | Oliver Athelstone Prisk Tonkin and Bertha Ida Louisa nee Kennett |
Dr David Oliver Tonkin AO (20 July 1929 – 2 October 2000) was the 38th Premier of South Australia, serving from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 1970 election, serving until 1983. He became the leader of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in 1975, replacing Bruce Eastick. Initially leading the party to defeat at the 1977 election against the Don Dunstan Labor government, his party won the 1979 election against the Des Corcoran Labor government. Following the 1980 Norwood by-election the Tonkin government was reduced to a one-seat majority. His government's policy approach combined economic conservatism with social progressivism. The Tonkin Liberal government was defeated after one term at the 1982 election by Labor led by John Bannon.
Born in Unley, Tonkin's father died when he was five, leaving Tonkin's mother to raise him and his siblings. Tonkin attended local public schools before gaining a scholarship to St Peter's College. Accepted into Medicine at the University of Adelaide, Tonkin worked as a taxi driver while completing his degree and practised as a General Practitioner before undertaking a postgraduate ophthalmology course in London. He established a practice in Adelaide and was soon considered one of the city's leading eye surgeons. Tonkin was of Cornish ancestry.
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