Don Dunstan

Dunstan was married to Gretel Dunstan from 1949 until 1974, having one daughter and two sons together.

In 1973, he remarried, this time to Adele Koh, a Malaysian journalist - they remained together until Adele’s sudden death in 1978.

In 1986, he met Stephen Cheng, the man he became partners with during his final years of life, living together in Norwood throughout Dunstan’s bout with cancers of the throat and lung.

Don Dunstan was born on September 21, 1926, in Suva, Fiji to Australian parents of Cornish ancestry.

His parents, Francis Vivian Dunstan and Ida May Dunstan, raised their son in Fiji, where Francis had a position for the Adelaide Steamship Company, until Don became ill at the age of 7.

From the age of seven till ten, he lived in Murray Bridge, South Australia, with his maternal grandparents, where it was hoped the drier climate would improve his condition.

At the age of ten, he moved back to Fiji, with the intention of beginning his secondary schooling there. However, he instead returned to Australia to attend St. Peter’s College, as he had succeeded in securing a full scholarship on the merit of his public speaking abilities.

During his private school years in Australia, he lived with relatives at Glenelg, a beach-side suburb of Adelaide, instead of boarding at the institution.

Following secondary schooling, Dunstan enrolled at the University of Adelaide, where he studied law and arts and became increasingly involved in student political organizations.

In 1949, he moved to Fiji with his wife Gretel, where he was admitted to the bar and began working as an attorney.

In 1951, he returned to Adelaide and began establishing a legal practice in Australia, briefly taking in boarders while he worked to get his law office started.

In 1953, he began his political career when he was nominated as the Norwood electoral district’s Labor Party candidate, winning the seat and joining the South Australian House of Assembly.

In 1953, he criticized the LDL’s introduction of the ‘Government Electoral Bill’ with unusually strong language, gaining attention for his outspoken approach to politics.

From 1980 to 1981, he briefly edited the magazine POL, the first post of his “life after politics”.

In 1982, he became the director of tourism of Victoria, moving away from the state of South Australia, which he had served for so many years, to many constituents’ surprise.

In the 1980s and 1990s, he chaired several community-oriented organizations as well as holding academic positions related to politics and public policy.

In the 1990s, he also wrote for ‘Adelaide Review’ magazine, addressing a range of political and social themes.