Dr David Tonkin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 38thPremier of South Australia | |
| In office 18 September 1979 – 10 November 1982 | |
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor | Sir Keith Seaman Sir Donald Dunstan |
| Deputy | Roger Goldsworthy |
| Preceded by | Des Corcoran |
| Succeeded by | John Bannon |
| Leader of the Opposition in South Australia | |
| In office 24 July 1975 – 18 September 1979 | |
| Deputy | Roger Goldsworthy |
| Preceded by | Bruce Eastick |
| Succeeded by | John Bannon |
| Leader of the South Australian Liberal Party | |
| In office 24 July 1975 – 10 November 1982 | |
| Deputy | Roger Goldsworthy |
| Preceded by | Bruce Eastick |
| Succeeded by | John Olsen |
| Treasurer of South Australia | |
| In office 18 September 1979 – 10 November 1982 | |
| Premier | Himself |
| Preceded by | Des Corcoran |
| Succeeded by | John Bannon |
| Member for Bragg | |
| In office 30 May 1970 – 10 April 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | Graham Ingerson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Oliver Tonkin (1929-07-20)20 July 1929[1] |
| Died | 2 October 2000(2000-10-02) (aged 71) |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal Party of Australia (SA) |
| Parent(s) | Oliver Athelstone Prisk Tonkin Bertha Ida Louisa Kennett |
David Oliver TonkinAO (20 July 1929 – 2 October 2000) was an Australian politician who served as the 38thPremier of South Australia from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to theHouse of Assembly seat ofBragg at the1970 election, serving until1983. He became the leader of theSouth Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in 1975, replacingBruce Eastick. Initially leading the party to defeat at the1977 election against theDon DunstanLabor government, his party won the1979 election against theDes Corcoran Labor government. Following the1980 Norwood by-election the Tonkin government was reduced to a one-seat majority. His government's policy approach combinedeconomic conservatism withsocial progressivism. The Tonkin Liberal government was defeated after one term at the1982 election by Labor led byJohn Bannon.
David Tonkin was born inUnley, South Australia, on 20 July 1929. When he was five, his father, Oliver, died, leaving Tonkin's mother, Bertha, to raise him. Tonkin attended local public schools before gaining a scholarship toSt Peter's College. Accepted into Medicine at theUniversity of Adelaide, Tonkin worked as a taxi driver while completing his degree and practised as aGeneral Practitioner before undertaking a postgraduateophthalmology course in London. He established a practice in Adelaide and was soon considered one of the city's leading eye surgeons. Tonkin was ofCornish ancestry.[2]
Tonkin's dedication to aiding the wider community was manifest through his honorary service as an eye surgeon to Adelaide public hospitals and through the initiation, through theLions Club, of Australia's first public screening programme forglaucoma. In 1962 Tonkin became executive director of the Australian Foundation for Prevention of Blindness SA Inc.[citation needed]
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From a young age, Tonkin was a supporter of theLiberal and Country League (LCL), handing out how-to-vote cards at the 1939 election for the party. His prominence in Adelaide society and his community service made him an ideal LCL candidate. In 1968, he unsuccessfully challenged PremierDon Dunstan in Dunstan's seat ofNorwood before becoming the first member for the adjacent seat ofBragg at the 1970 election.
Tonkin quickly gained a reputation as a progressive member of the LCL. He was an early supporter of theLiberal Movement faction created by former premierSteele Hall, although Tonkin remained with the LCL when the Liberal Movement split from it.
Tonkin gained statewide prominence in 1974, when he successfully introduced a private member's bill to outlaw sex discrimination, the first such law in Australia. A year later, this prominence led him to challengeBruce Eastick for the leadership of what by then had become the South Australia branch of the Liberal Party. Tonkin became leader after Eastick stood aside.[3]
As leader, Tonkin worked toward healing the internal party wounds by coaxing the Liberal Movement back into the Liberal fold. Although the Liberals lost the1977 election (Dunstan's government remained fairly popular with voters, and memories of the LCL split were still vivid), they easily won the1979 election against Labor, briefly led byDes Corcoran. At that election, the Liberals won 55 percent of the two-party vote on a swing of over eight percent. At the time, this was the largest two-party victory for any party since the end of the Playmander, exceeding Labor taking 54.5 percent in 1973. While this would have normally been enough for a strong majority government in the rest of Australia, the Liberals won only 13 seats in Adelaide. As a result, they only won 25 of 47 seats, just two more than needed to govern alone. Even so, it was the first time that the main non-Labor party in South Australia had won a majority of the two-party vote while also winning the most seats since its predecessor, the LCL, won 50.3 percent of the two-party vote in 1959.
Already governing on a knife-edge, Tonkin's majority became even slimmer in 1980 after a court decision threw out a Liberal victory in Dunstan's old seat Norwood, and Labor regained it in the ensuing by-election. As a result, Tonkin found himself with a bare majority of one seat.
Also serving as his ownstate Treasurer, Tonkin combined fiscal conservatism with implementing socially progressive reforms. In the former, Tonkin made significant cuts to the public service, earning him the enmity of the unions, while an example of the latter was the passage of the land rights bill and the return to thePitjantjatjara people of 10 per cent of South Australia's area.
Other significant actions include the development of the copper anduranium mine atOlympic Dam (Roxby Downs), extending his earlier anti-discrimination provisions to include physical disability, establishing the Ethnic Affairs Commission and introducingrandom breath testing (RBT).
Bidding for re-election at the1982 election, Tonkin had support of the South Australian media. However, the economy was hit by theearly 1980s recession. The government suffered a large swing at the1982 Florey state by-election before narrowly losing the state election two months later to Labor led byJohn Bannon. Tonkin resigned from parliament shortly after following a heart complaint.Graham Ingerson easily retained the seat for the Liberals at theensuing by-election.
Until the defeat of Steven Marshall in 2022, Tonkin was the only non-Labor Premier to have served for at least a full term since the main non-Labor party in South Australia adopted the Liberal banner.
Subsequently, Tonkin returned to ophthalmology and served in various capacities in different government and community organisations, including chairman of the board of the State Opera from 1985 to 1986 and vice-president ofSturt Football Club. In 1986, he assumed the London-based position of Secretary-General of theCommonwealth Parliamentary Association.[citation needed]
Returning to Australia in 1992, Tonkin was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1993 and served as chairman of theSouth Australian Film Corporation from 1994 to 1996. A stroke in 1996 permanently affected his speech and forced him into retirement.
Tonkin was awarded the Liberal Party's outstanding achievement award in 2000 by Prime MinisterJohn Howard and died in his sleep atMengler Hill,Barossa Valley, South Australia, on 2 October 2000 while attending a music festival. He was survived by his wife Prue, six children and 10 grandchildren.[citation needed]
Following his death, the Pitjantjatjara people paid tribute to Tonkin, stating that no Liberal politician had done as much for Aboriginal people. Others stated that he lost the 1982 election because he lacked the ruthlessness required of successful politicians.[4]
The Board Room in theBragg Electorate Office is named in his honour. In addition, a Memorial Dinner in his name is also now held each year by The South Australian Young Liberal Movement.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition of South Australia 1975 – 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Premier of South Australia 1979 – 1982 | |
| Treasurer of South Australia 1979 – 1982 | ||
| Parliament of South Australia | ||
| New division | Member forBragg 1970–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of theLiberal Party of Australia (South Australian Division) 1975 – 1982 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
| Other | |
