Don Dunstan - Early Life

Early Life

Dunstan was born on 21 September 1926 in Suva, Fiji to Australian parents of Cornish descent. His parents had moved to Fiji in 1916 after his father took up a position as manager of the Adelaide Steamship Company. He spent the first seven years of his life in Fiji, starting his schooling there. Dunstan was beset by illness, and his parents sent him to South Australia hoping that the drier climate would assist his recovery. He lived in Murray Bridge for three years with his mother's parents before returning to Suva for a short period during his secondary education. During his time in Fiji, Dunstan mixed easily with the Indian settlers and indigenous people, something that was frowned upon by the whites on the island.

He won a scholarship in classical studies and attended the prestigious St Peter's College, a traditional private school for the sons of the Adelaide establishment. He developed public speaking and acting skills, winning the College's public speaking prize for two consecutive years. In 1943, he portrayed Abraham Lincoln in a production of John Drinkwater's play of the same title, and according to the school magazine, he "was the chief contributor to the success of the occasion." His academic strengths were in classical history and languages, and he disliked mathematics. He gained a reputation as a maverick, and said that his headmaster called him a "congenital rebel" multiple times. During this time, Dunstan did not board and lived in the seaside suburb of Glenelg with relatives. Dunstan completed his secondary schooling in 1943, ranking in the top 30 overall in the statewide matriculation examinations.

In his youth, influenced by his uncle, former Liberal Lord Mayor of Adelaide Sir Jonathan Cain, Dunstan was a supporter of the conservative Liberal and Country League (LCL) and handed out how-to-vote cards for the party at state elections. Dunstan later said of his involvement with the Liberals: "I do not call it snobbery to deride the Establishment in South Australia, I admit that I was brought up into it, and I admit that it gave me a pain." When asked of his roots, he said "I'm a refugee from it and thank God for somewhere honest to flee to!"

His political awakening happened during his university years. Studying law and arts at the University of Adelaide, he became very active in political organisations, joining the University Socialist Club, Fabian Society, the Student Representative Council and the Theatre Group. A two-week stint in the Communist Party was followed by membership in the Australian Labor Party. Dunstan was markedly different from the general membership of the Labor Party of the time; upon applying for membership at Trades Hall, a Labor veteran supposedly muttered "how could that long-haired prick be a Labor man?" His peculiarities, such as his upper-class accent, were a target of derision by the working-class Labor old guard throughout his early political involvement. Dunstan funded his education by working in theatre and radio during his university years. He eventually graduated with a double degree, with arts majors in Latin, comparative philology, history and politics, and he came first in political science.

Whilst living in Norwood and studying at university, Dunstan met his first wife, Gretel Dunstan (née Elsasser), whose Jewish family had fled Nazi Germany to Australia. They married in 1949, and moved, after Dunstan graduated, to Fiji where he was admitted to the bar and began his career as a lawyer. They returned to Adelaide in 1951 and settled in George Street, Norwood, with the couple's young daughter, Bronwen. The family was forced to live in squalor for a number of years while Dunstan established his legal practice; during this time, they took in boarders as a source of extra income. Gretel later gave birth to two sons.