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'Bob Hawke once said that Don Dunstan was Australia's most influential Australian politician. This is the first comprehensive biography of Dunstan, the transformative and muchloved former Premier of South Australia from 1967–68 and 1970–79. He was a larger than life character and, unlike most state premiers, had a huge national profile. People still remember Dunstan for his pink shorts and championing of sexual rights, but his impact was much wider than this. Against stiff opposition from Adelaide's conservative establishment, he pioneered legislation of Aboriginal land rights and consumer protection laws, abolished the death penalty, relaxed censorship and drinking laws, and decriminalised homosexuality. He is recognised for his role in reinvigorating the social, artistic and cultural life of South Australia during his nine years in office, remembered as the 'Dunstan Decade'.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Dyslexic edition.
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
[Review] Don Dunstan : The Visionary Politician Who Changed Australia
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 52 no. 3 2021; (p. 463-465)
— Review of Don Dunstan 2019 single work biography'Following the death of South Australia's former long-serving premier, Don Dunstan, Gough Whitlam remarked:
'It is difficult to rekindle the brightness of the light which seemed to shine from Adelaide around Australia during the Dunstan years. The fact is that no one has done more to transform his own community and society and, by his example, the whole of Australia. (xii–xiii)
'Dunstan's biographer, Angela Woollacott, set herself the task of rekindling the brightness of the light, and she succeeds admirably in this comprehensive biography of one of South Australia's – and the Australian Labor Party's – most progressive figures.' (Introduction) -
The Suave Socialist Still in Spotlight
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 17 August 2019; (p. 22)
— Review of Don Dunstan 2019 single work biography'Observers of premiers conferences, as they were then called, in Canberra in the first half of the 1970s often remarked that the outstanding participant among the federal and state politicians attending was South Australian premier Don Dunstan.' (Introduction)
-
Don, but Not Forgotten
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , September no. 475 2019; (p. 8-9)
— Review of Don Dunstan 2019 single work biography 'As the state's great progressive hero of the 20th century, Don Dunstan remains an influential and polarising presence in South Australian politics and culture. Two decades after his death, a new biography offers a comprehensive account of the former Premier's life and legacy.' (Introduction) -
Don the Divider : An Elegant Biography of the Maverick Politician
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 415 2019; (p. 62)
— Review of Don Dunstan 2019 single work biography 'Don Dunstan tended to divide those around him, even his parents. His father, Viv, moved from Adelaide to become a company man in Fiji. Peter Kearsley, a contemporary of Don’s who later became chief justice of Fiji, said Viv was ‘a fair dinkum sort of chap’, ‘the sort who would have been an office bearer in a bowling club’. His mother, according to Kearsley, was ‘genteel … deliberately countering stereotypes of what Australians were like. She would not even let Don play rugger.’ She disapproved of his friendship with neighbouring children – the part-Fijian Bill Sorby and the young K.B. Singh. Dunstan himself traced his awareness of racism to his childhood.'(Introduction)
-
Angela Woollacott : Don Dunstan
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 21-27 September 2019;
— Review of Don Dunstan 2019 single work biography'When I immigrated to Australia in 1986, this country was notably forward-looking compared with the United States and Britain, where Reagan’s and Thatcher’s neoliberal policies were busily dismantling civil society and social welfare. Here was universal healthcare, free tertiary education and a decent safety net for society’s most vulnerable. I found palpable excitement about Australian film, popular music and literature. With Uluru recently returned to its traditional owners, it seemed that Indigenous land rights and the redress of historical wrongs were only a matter of time.'(Introduction)
-
Angela Woollacott : Don Dunstan
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Paper , 21-27 September 2019;
— Review of Don Dunstan 2019 single work biography'When I immigrated to Australia in 1986, this country was notably forward-looking compared with the United States and Britain, where Reagan’s and Thatcher’s neoliberal policies were busily dismantling civil society and social welfare. Here was universal healthcare, free tertiary education and a decent safety net for society’s most vulnerable. I found palpable excitement about Australian film, popular music and literature. With Uluru recently returned to its traditional owners, it seemed that Indigenous land rights and the redress of historical wrongs were only a matter of time.'(Introduction)
-
Don the Divider : An Elegant Biography of the Maverick Politician
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 415 2019; (p. 62)
— Review of Don Dunstan 2019 single work biography 'Don Dunstan tended to divide those around him, even his parents. His father, Viv, moved from Adelaide to become a company man in Fiji. Peter Kearsley, a contemporary of Don’s who later became chief justice of Fiji, said Viv was ‘a fair dinkum sort of chap’, ‘the sort who would have been an office bearer in a bowling club’. His mother, according to Kearsley, was ‘genteel … deliberately countering stereotypes of what Australians were like. She would not even let Don play rugger.’ She disapproved of his friendship with neighbouring children – the part-Fijian Bill Sorby and the young K.B. Singh. Dunstan himself traced his awareness of racism to his childhood.'(Introduction)
-
Don, but Not Forgotten
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: The Adelaide Review , September no. 475 2019; (p. 8-9)
— Review of Don Dunstan 2019 single work biography 'As the state's great progressive hero of the 20th century, Don Dunstan remains an influential and polarising presence in South Australian politics and culture. Two decades after his death, a new biography offers a comprehensive account of the former Premier's life and legacy.' (Introduction) -
The Suave Socialist Still in Spotlight
2019
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 17 August 2019; (p. 22)
— Review of Don Dunstan 2019 single work biography'Observers of premiers conferences, as they were then called, in Canberra in the first half of the 1970s often remarked that the outstanding participant among the federal and state politicians attending was South Australian premier Don Dunstan.' (Introduction)
-
[Review] Don Dunstan : The Visionary Politician Who Changed Australia
2021
single work
review
— Appears in: Australian Historical Studies , vol. 52 no. 3 2021; (p. 463-465)
— Review of Don Dunstan 2019 single work biography'Following the death of South Australia's former long-serving premier, Don Dunstan, Gough Whitlam remarked:
'It is difficult to rekindle the brightness of the light which seemed to shine from Adelaide around Australia during the Dunstan years. The fact is that no one has done more to transform his own community and society and, by his example, the whole of Australia. (xii–xiii)
'Dunstan's biographer, Angela Woollacott, set herself the task of rekindling the brightness of the light, and she succeeds admirably in this comprehensive biography of one of South Australia's – and the Australian Labor Party's – most progressive figures.' (Introduction)