Donald Beaumont Dunstan AC KBE CB (1923 - 2011)

Born 18 Feb 1923 in Murray Bridge, South Australia, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Beryl June (Dunningham) Dunstan — married 1948 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Died 15 Oct 2011 at age 88 in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

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Biography

Preceded by Reverend Sir Keith Seaman KCVO OBE

16th Post-Federation Governor of South Australia (30th overall) 23rd April 1982 to 5th February 1991

Succeeded by The Honourable Dame Roma Mitchell AC DBE CVO QC

Donald Dunstan AC KBE CB is Notable.

Lieutenant General Sir Donald Dunstan AC KBE CB was a senior Australian Army officer whose 1940 to 1982 military career spanned the Second World War, Korean War, Indonesian Confrontation, Malayan Emergency, and Vietnam War. From 1977 to 1982, he held the most-senior Army appointment of Chief of the General Staff, before retiring from the Army having overseen a large-scale re-organisation. He became the 30th and longest-serving Governor of South Australia (23rd April 1982 until 5th February 1991).

Military Career

Donald Dunstan AC KBE CB is a Military Veteran.
Served in the Australian Army 1940-82
Second World War, Korean War, Vietnam War

Dunstan joined the Australian Army, entering the Royal Military College, Duntroon in February 1940 and graduating early, due to the war, in June 1942. He was posted to the 27th Australian Infantry Battalion,^[1] with whom he served in a garrison role firstly within South Australia and then in the Northern Territory. The battalion was mobilised on 9th December 1941 - two days after Japan entered the war - and travelled to Darwin by road and rail; a journey taking six days. The battalion was based at Winnellie and throughout January worked on defensive positions at Nightcliff, Casuarina, Rapid Creek, Shoal Bay, Leeanyah Swap, Howard River, and Lee point. The 27th got its first taste of action in Darwin, with the Japanese bombings of the town throughout 1942. In September 1944, the 27th took over from the Americans on Green (Nissen) Island, becoming the first Australian troops to land in the Solomon Islands. During the last year of the Second World War the battalion was finally committed to fighting against the Japanese, during the Bougainville campaign. The 27th was known as the "South Australian Scottish Regiment", wearing the MacKenzie tartan and maintaining a pipe band.^[2]

After the war, Dunstan served as a staff officer with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in Japan. He saw service in the Korean War^[3] with 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment.^[4] The army remained committed to security in the region, being deployed during both the Indonesian Confrontation and Malayan Emergency.

In early 1968, he was deployed to Vietnam as deputy commander of the 1st Australian Task Force, before assuming command in May that year during the Battle of Coral–Balmoral. He was appointed Commander of Australian Forces in Vietnam in 1970, the role in which he oversaw the withdrawal of Australian troops from Vietnam throughout 1971-72.^[5]

His next appointments were Chief of Materiel in Army Headquarters (1972-74) and General Officer Commanding Field Forces (1974-77). In 1977, having been raised to the rank of Lieutenant General, he became Chief of the General Staff (CGS), being extended in that capacity twice before retiring from the Army in 1982. During his time as CGS, Dunstan reorganised the Army around the concept of specialised brigades and worked to improve the readiness of Army units to meet rapidly developing threats. This work later proved pivotal in ensuring the success of the Australian intervention in East Timor in 1999.

Vice Regal Appointment

Following his retirement from the Army, Dunstan returned to South Australia, assuming the appointment of Governor of South Australia on 23rd April 1982. Becoming the longest holder of that appointment following two extensions, he retired from the role on 5th February 1991.

Premier Jay Weatherill paid tribute to Dunstan at his funeral, stating: "Although this soldier was quite used to command and to giving orders, Sir Donald was also well aware of the requirements and limits of his constitutional role as governor. While his counsel was sought and valued by the premier, he never intervened in the political process and was meticulous in avoiding public controversy."

Honours and Awards

Sir Donald Dunstan received several decorations, honours and awards throughout a remarkable career, all deserved to the utmost:

• Companion of the Order of Australia (1991)^[6]
• Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1980)^[7]
• Companion of the Order of the Bath (1972)^[8]
• Commander of the Order of the British Empire (1969)^[9]
• Member of the Order of the British Empire (1954) ^[10]
• Mentioned in Despatches (1947)^[11]
• Officer of the National Order of Vietnam (1972)
• Cross of Gallantry with Palm (Vietnam) (1972)^[12]

Personal

Born Donald Beaumont Dunstan on 18th February 1923 at Murray Bridge, South Australia, Australia, he was the son of Oscar Reginald Dunstan and Eileen Beaumont.^[13] Donald's paternal grandfather, John Kollosche, had emigrated from Prussia (Germany). Sir Donald's father, Oscar Kollosche, was a Great War ANZAC. As an Anglicised surname, Oscar had adopted Dunstan, being the maiden surname of his South Australia-born mother.

In 1948, Dunstan married Beryl Dunningham in Sydney, New South Wales.^[14] They had a son, Richard.

Dunstan passed away, aged 88 years, on 15th October 2011 at Adelaide, South Australia, being given a State funeral in St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide, and afterwards his ashes were interred in Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia.^[15]

Sources

1. ↑ Australian War Memorial Unit record: 27th Australian Infantry Battalion; accessed 15 Jun 2018
2. ↑ Australian_War_Memorial_Nominal_Roll: NX160013 Major Donald Beaumont Dunstan; accessed 15 Jun 2018
3. ↑ Australian_War_Memorial_Nominal_Roll: 2289 Major Donald Beaumont Dunstan; accessed 15 Jun 2018
4. ↑ Australian War Memorial Unit record: 1st Battalion RAR; accessed 15 Jun 2018
5. ↑ Australian_War_Memorial_Nominal_Roll: 2289 Major General Donald Beaumont Dunstan; accessed 15 Jun 2018
6. ↑ It's_an_Honour:_AC; accessed 15 Jun 2018
7. ↑ It's_an_Honour:_KBE; accessed 15 Jun 2018
8. ↑ It's_an_Honour:_CB; accessed 15 Jun 2018
9. ↑ It's_an_Honour:_CBE; accessed 15 Jun 2018
10. ↑ It's_an_Honour:_MBE; accessed 15 Jun 2018
11. ↑ Australian War Memorial Honours and Awards: Mentioned in Despatches; accessed 15 Jun 2018
12. ↑ [Barnes, I.L. (1974). Australian Gallant and Distinguished Service, Vietnam 1962–1973: Being a Record of British and Foreign Decorations Awarded to Australian Servicemen. Canberra, Australia: Military Historical Society of Australia. ISBN 0909859108]; accessed 15 Jun 2018
13. ↑ South Australia Birth Index #112A/244 1923
14. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #8457/1948
15. ↑ ABC_News_death_notice; accessed 15 Jun 2018

See also

• Australian Army Journal, VIII (3): 187–189, 2011. In Memoriam: Lieutenant General Sir Donald Beaumont Dunstan, AC, KBE, CB (1923–2011). ISSN 1448-2843.
• Wikipedia:_Donald_Dunstan; accessed 15 Jun 2018.