In Memoriam - Lieutenant General Sir Donald Beaumont Dunstan, AC, KBE, CB (1923-2011)

Lieutenant General Sir Donald Beaumont Dunstan, AC, KBE, CB

(1923–2011)

Donald Beaumont Dunstan was born in Murray Bridge South Australia on 18 February 1923. In February 1940 he entered the Royal Military College Duntroon, graduating as part of a shortened wartime course in June 1942. Upon graduation he was posted as a platoon commander to the 27th Infantry Battalion where he served (except for a period in brigade headquarters as a liaison officer) for the remainder of the war in the South West Pacific Area. It was during his service in the 27th Battalion that he was mentioned in despatches for patrol actions in Bougainville in 1945.

Following the war, Sir Donald served with the occupation forces in Japan and was part of the cadre that formed the embryonic Australian Regular Army in 1947. Following his marriage to Beryl Dunningham in 1948, he relocated to Adelaide’s Keswick Barracks where he served in a variety of staff appointments in both the Headquarters 4th Military District and Central Command. In 1953 he joined the 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR), as Second-in-Command prior to the unit’s departure for service in Korea in 1954–55. Between the Korean and Vietnam Wars he held a number of regimental, staff and instructional appointments at home and abroad.

From mid 1964 to early 1968, Sir Donald held command appointments at 1 RAR and 1 Recruit Training Battalion. On promotion to colonel, Sir Donald arrived in Vietnam as Deputy Commander of the Australian Task Force in January 1968, only a few days before the start of the TET Offensive. At that time he assumed command of the Task Force elements remaining in Phuoc Tuy Province and directed the operations of the Australian troops deployed for the defence of the provincial capital, Baria.

In 1968, Sir Donald assumed command of the Australians at Fire Support Bases ‘Coral’ and ‘Balmoral’ covering enemy approaches to Saigon. Some of the fiercest fighting experienced by Australian troops in the war took place in this operation. For this service he was awarded the CBE in 1969.

On his return to Australia in 1969 Sir Donald was promoted to brigadier to command 10 Task Force in New South Wales. In 1970 he and his wife went to London where he attended the Imperial Defence College. Upon completion of Defence College he was promoted to major general and returned to Vietnam in 1971, as Commander of the Australian Force. It was during this period that he planned and executed the withdrawal of the Australians from Vietnam. For his service as the Commander Australian Forces Vietnam he was awarded the CB.

From 1972 to early 1977, Sir Donald served in a variety of general officer appointments including General Officer Commanding Field Force Command and Deputy Chief of the General Staff. In January 1977 he was promoted to lieutenant general and appointed as the Chief of the General Staff—this was to become the pinnacle of his career.

After the turbulent 1960s the acrimonious debate over conscription, and the end of the Vietnam War, the Army risked losing its way. It had lost much of the public regard that had been its birthright since the landing at Gallipoli. It was reduced in size and was starved of resources. The challenges that faced the Army leadership of the late 1970s were quite simply, daunting. But their response was both inspired and inspiring. They preserved the ethos and morale of our Army. Sir Donald Dunstan’s finest contribution was made during this critical period.

His reorganisation of the Australian Army in 1980 was of fundamental and enduring importance. It is easy to forget how difficult it was to maintain capabilities during this period, even as the Government demanded a higher state of readiness from the Army in the wake of the Hilton bombing in 1978 and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

Sir Donald designed the model that allocated specialised roles to the brigades to resolve the dilemma of higher readiness without sacrificing the ability to maintain the core war fighting skills required of a modern Army. The core elements of that model have survived until this day. Concepts with far shorter shelf lives have been called visionary.

Indeed, it is no exaggeration to suggest that the rapid response of the Australian Army to the East Timor crisis of 1999 was the final bequest of the Dunstan years. The rapid deployment model had stood the test of time and preserved a mobile deployable force capable of a response to a regional crisis. Sir Donald’s work laid that foundation at a time when softer options were available.

As the Chief of General Staff his tenure was twice extended by the government and he completed his tour in 1982. Sir Donald was knighted in the New Year Honours List in 1980 with the award of the KBE.

Following his retirement, Sir Donald was appointed Governor of South Australia, becoming South Australia’s longest-serving governor, from 1982 to 1991.

Sir Donald commanded at all levels—rightly earning the sobriquet of ‘a soldier’s soldier.’ Yet the hard hand of war never eroded his decency or humanity. He was a revered leader whose men always knew he was looking out for them. A lover of football (AFL), cross country skiing and fly fishing, he died in Adelaide on 15 October 2011.