Don Dunstan
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The Honourable Don Dunstan AC, QC |
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| 35th Premier of South Australia Elections: 1968, 1970, 1973, 1975, 1977 |
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In office 2 June 1970 – 15 February 1979 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor |
Sir James Harrison Sir Mark Oliphant Sir Douglas Nicholls Sir Keith Seaman |
| Deputy | Des Corcoran |
| Preceded by | Steele Hall |
| Succeeded by | Des Corcoran |
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In office 1 June 1967 – 17 April 1968 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor | Sir Edric Bastyan |
| Deputy | Des Corcoran |
| Preceded by | Frank Walsh |
| Succeeded by | Steele Hall |
| 28th Leader of the Opposition (SA) | |
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In office 17 April 1968 – 2 June 1970 |
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| Deputy | Des Corcoran |
| Preceded by | Steele Hall |
| Succeeded by | Steele Hall |
| 14th Australian Labor Party (SA) leader | |
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In office 1967–1979 |
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| Preceded by | Frank Walsh |
| Succeeded by | Des Corcoran |
| Treasurer of South Australia | |
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In office 2 June 1970 – 15 February 1975 |
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| Premier | Don Dunstan |
| Preceded by | Steele Hall |
| Succeeded by | Des Corcoran |
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In office 1 June 1967 – 16 April 1968 |
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| Premier | Don Dunstan |
| Preceded by | Frank Walsh |
| Succeeded by | Steele Hall |
| 38th Attorney-General of South Australia | |
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In office 20 June 1975 – 9 October 1975 |
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| Premier | Don Dunstan |
| Preceded by | Len King |
| Succeeded by | Peter Duncan |
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In office 10 March 1965 – 16 April 1968 |
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| Premier | Frank Walsh |
| Preceded by | Colin Rowe |
| Succeeded by | Robin Millhouse |
| Member of the South Australian Parliament for Norwood |
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In office 7 March 1953 – 10 March 1979 |
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| Preceded by | Roy Moir |
| Succeeded by | Greg Crafter |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
21 September 1926 Suva, Fiji |
| Died | 6 February 1999 (aged 72) Norwood, Adelaide |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party (SA) |
| Spouse(s) | Gretel Elsasser (1949–1974) Adele Koh (1976–1978; her death) |
| Domestic partner | Stephen Cheng (1986–1999; his death ) |
| Children | 3 (with Elsasser) |
| Parents | Francis Vivian Dunstan (deceased) Ida May Dunstan (née Hill) (deceased) |
Donald Allan "Don" Dunstan AC, QC (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became leader of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.
The son of a business executive, Dunstan grew up as part of the Adelaide establishment. He excelled academically before experiencing his progressive political awakening while training in law and arts at the University of Adelaide. His upper-class background and scholarly bearing made him unusual for the Labor Party at the time, but he rose quickly and entered parliament at the age of 26. Dunstan quickly achieved prominence as Labor's standout performer, a charismatic and aggressive debater in an era of sedate political conduct. The dominant political figure at the time was Premier Thomas Playford IV, then leading the Liberal and Country League (LCL) through a 27-year hold on power, aided by a system of electoral malapportionment dubbed the Playmander, which gave undue weight to the LCL's rural base since its introduction by the LCL in 1936. Dunstan stridently pursued the LCL over the Playmander.
In the late 1950s, Dunstan became well known for his campaign against the death penalty being imposed on Max Stuart, who was convicted of rape and murder of a small girl. He harried Playford aggressively over the matter, creating an uproar over what he saw as an unfair process. Playford eventually relented, and appeared shaken thereafter; the event was seen as a turning point in the LCL's decline, and Labor gained momentum. During Labor's time in opposition, Dunstan was prominent in securing some reforms in Aboriginal rights, and was at the forefront of Labor abandoning the White Australia Policy.
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