John Keith Dunstan (3 February 1925 – 11 September 2013), known as Keith Dunstan, was an Australian journalist and author. He was a prolific writer and the author of more than 35 books.
Early life Dunstan was born in East Malvern, Victoria, the son of journalist and a Victoria Cross recipient, William Dunstan, and his wife Marjorie. He attended Melbourne Grammar School and Geelong Grammar School and was a flight lieutenant in the Royal Australian Air Force from 1943 to 1946, stationed at Labuan in the Pacific.
Journalism In 1946, Dunstan joined The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, publishers of The Sun News-Pictorial and The Herald (since merged as the Herald Sun). He was Foreign Correspondent for the H&WT with posts in New York (1949–1952) and London (1952–1954). This period was followed by a position with The Courier-Mail, for which he wrote a column "Day by Day". He returned to Melbourne and, from 1958 to 1978, contributed a daily column, "A Place in the Sun" for The Sun News-Pictorial, the city's largest circulating daily newspaper. During these years his popularity grew, and he became a Melbourne institution.
From 1962, he wrote regularly for the Sydney-based weekly magazine The Bulletin under the pseudonym of Batman (after the founder of Melbourne, John Batman) and for the travel magazine Walkabout. In 1976 and 1977, he was president of the Melbourne Press Club, succeeding Rohan Rivett."Melbourne Press Club events" , Melbourne Press Club website. Retrieved 12 October 2013. He was the United States West Coast Correspondent (1979–1982) for The Herald and Weekly Times. Later, he was a regular columnist and occasional contributor to The Age newspaper.
Author He published a quartet of books on Australian character: Wowsers (1968), Knockers (1972), Sports (1973), and Ratbags (1979), and many works of history on popular subjects ranging from wine, to sport, to retailing, and including an unfashionably critical study of the Australian outlaw Ned Kelly, Saint Ned (1980). His pioneering works of Australian sports history included The Paddock That Grew (1962) on the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which has now seen several editions and updates. He also wrote an autobiography, No Brains at All (1990). Other publications included The Melbourne I Remember (2004) and Moonee Ponds to Broadway (2006), a study of one of his friends and a fellow Melburnian, the satirist Barry Humphries.
Other activities In 1967, he became founding secretary of the Anti-Football League, a tongue-in-cheek organisation that pokes fun at the Australian rules football obsession.
An enthusiastic commuter and recreational cyclist, he was the first president of the Bicycle Institute of Victoria (now known as Bicycle Network) from its founding in 1974 to 1978. He was a bicycle touring enthusiast who with his wife Marie cycled across the United States in the 1970s and through China in the 1980s.
Whilst living on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula he was an enthusiastic grower and maker of pinot noir wine.
Honours and awards In the 2002 Australia Day Honours, Dunstan was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) "for service as a journalist and author, and to the community, particularly as a supporter of the Berry Street Babies Home"."Dunstan, John Keith", It's an Honour Government website, 26 January 2002. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
On 26 May 2009, he became Patron of the Prahran Mechanics' Institute."Our Patron" , Prahran Mechanics' Institute, May 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
On 11 October 2013, Dunstan was posthumously inducted into the Melbourne Press Club's Victorian Media Hall of Fame. He was told of his forthcoming induction before his death."Rupert Murdoch, Keith Dunstan hailed as pioneers of journalism", Herald Sun, 11 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
Personal life Dunstan and his wife Marie (daughter of Charles McFadyen) had four children. Dunstan died of cancer on 11 September 2013."Vale Keith Dunstan, gentle footy hater, cyclist and master of words", The Age, 11 September 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013. Dunstan's son, David, reported that his father had written his own, self-effacing, obituary."Columnist Keith Dunstan dies of cancer aged 88", ABC website, 13 September 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
Books YearTitlePublisherISBNNotes1962The paddock that grew: the story of the Melbourne Cricket ClubCassellResearch by Hugh Field1966Supporting a columnCassell1968Wowsers; being an account of the prudery exhibited by certain outstanding men and women in such matters as drinking, smoking, prostitution, censorship and gamblingCassell1971The Australian uppercrust bookSun BooksEdited by Geoffrey Dutton and Lee White1972KnockersCassell1973SportsCassell1979It's all up hillPegasus BooksJoint author Jeff Hook1979Moomba, the first 25 yearsSun News-Pictorial and Melbourne Moomba Festival1979RatbagsGolden PressForeword by Barry Humphries1979The store on the hillMacmillan1979Make friends for Australia and for VictoriaAustralian Tourist CommissionBooklet1980Saint Ned: the story of the near sanctification of an Australian outlawMethuen Australia1983A cricket dictionarySun BooksIllustrated by Jeff Hook1983Footy, an Aussie rules dictionarySun BooksIllustrated by Jeff Hook1984Tennis: a tennis dictionarySun BooksIllustrated by Jeff Hook1985Above Australia: a salute to our citiesWeldonsAuthor of text, photography by Leo Meier1985Health and fitness: the dictionarySun BooksIllustrated by Jeff Hook1985Racing: the horse-racing dictionarySun BooksIllustrated by Jeff Hook1985Wine, the wine dictionarySun BooksIllustrated by Jeff Hook1986Bowls – the lawn bowls dictionarySun BooksIllustrated by Jeff Hook1986Gurney & Bluey & Curley: Alex Gurney and his greatest cartoonsMacmillan Company of AustraliaJohn Gurney with Keith Dunstan1986Hook, line and sinker: the dictionarySun BooksIllustrated by Jeff Hook1987Skiing, the skiing dictionarySun Books1987The amber nectar: a celebration of beer and brewing in AustraliaViking O'Neil1988Bundy: a centenary historyBundaberg Distilling Company1989A day in the life of Australia: the complete collection of his Age columnMacmillan Co. of AustraliaCompiler1989The perfect cup: the story of coffeeDavid Ell Press for AndronicusWith Sue Fairlie-Cuninghame1990No brains at all: an autobiographyViking1991Flag, the first 30 years: the growth and experiences of the hospitality industry in AustralasiaFlag International1991No brains on Tuesday: the collected wit & wisdom of Keith DunstanSchwarts & Wilkinson1994My life with the demonWilkinson Books1995Just Jeans: the story 1970-1995Australian Scholarly Publishing1999Not a bad drop: Brown BrothersAustralian Scholarly Publishing1999The confessions of a bicycle nutInformation Australia2000The people's ground: the MCGAustralian Scholarly Publishing2001Informed sources: a history of the Melbourne Press Club 1971-2001Melbourne Press Club20031853-2003, Victoria Police Australia: celebrating 150 years in the communityVictoria PoliceWriter of introduction2003The tapestry story: celebrating 150 years of the Melbourne cricket groundLothian BooksBiographies by Ken Williams and David Allen, with illustrations by Robert Ingpen2004Batman in the Bulletin: the Melbourne I rememberAustralian Scholarly PublishingForeword by Barry Humphries, selected and edited by David Dunstan2005Collins: the story of Australia's premier streetAustralian Scholarly PublishingBy Judith Raphael Buckrich with Keith Dunstan, Rohan Storey & Marc Strizic2006Moonee Ponds to BroadwayAustralian Postal Corporation2011Two old geezers tell you about bridge, the A-ZWilkinson PublishingWith Jeff Hook2017Kiwi: the Australian brand that brought a shine to the world: a history of the Kiwi Polish CompanyAllen & UnwinForeword by Geoffrey Blainey Published posthumously
References
External links Keith Dunstan articles at The National Times