Street Press Legend Robert Dunstan Passes Away, Aged 68

Adelaide’s live music scene has lost a veritable icon: Robert ‘Bertie’ Dunstan, the longtime editor of street press staple Rip It Up and BSide Magazine, and a true champion of Australian music, has died at the age of 68.

His passing was confirmed on Monday (August 21) when The Gov – one of Adelaide’s most respected live music venues, and one of Dunstan’s personal favourite haunts – posted on Facebook that he’d died at his home in Moana last Sunday evening (August 20). Just hours before he died, Dunstan made a post of his own to plug some 27 shows happening around Adelaide. He was even spotted at The Gov last Saturday night (August 19), when the venue hosted Dave Graney and The Coral Snakes.

At the time of writing, Dunstan’s cause of death is unknown to the public.

“Rob was a man who dedicated his life to live music here in South Australia,” The Gov wrote in their obituary. “From our very early days at The Gov, Rob shared with us his encyclopaedic knowledge of live music, advising us on bands to book and having enormous input into the development of our venue. He recalled tour dates, line ups, audience attendance and set lists of seemingly every band to tour to Adelaide, his in-depth interviews and reviews as editor of Rip It Up educated us all.

“In honour of his generosity and his remarkable contribution, we built the Robert Dunstan Bar, a place for him to drink his pints and watch his beloved bands, and the knowledge that he was there on Saturday night watching Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes gives us some comfort. The Adelaide music scene has lost its champion and we’ve lost our biggest supporter and friend. Vale Rob Dunstan, we will miss you.”

Meanwhile, community radio station 5 Triple Z honoured Dunstan with a special edition of its program On The Road Again (which had long been hosted by Dunstan himself), playing choice cuts from his personal CD collection; two of his close friends, Geoff Hayter and Michael Mild, hosted the honorary episode. As of next Wednesday (August 30), the two-hour show will be retitled Bertie’s Bag, with Mild and Mark Thiele curating playlists from Dunstan’s extensive music collection.

In a separate post honouring his legacy, 5 Triple Z wrote that Dunstan was “one of the most passionate and longest-serving champions of the local music scene”, highlighting his 12-year tenure at Rip It Up, his role in establishing its contemporary magazine BSide, his longstanding position as a DJ and presenter, and his induction into the AMC South Australian Music Hall Of Fame.

“Robert possessed an encyclopaedic knowledge of music and over the years interviewed the absolute who's who of musicians worldwide,” they wrote. “Robert's work to promote local artists has been pivotal to music in South Australia and he will be greatly missed. To Robert's family and friends we give our heartfelt condolences. Robert we will all miss you terribly…"

Music SA – the “peak advocacy body for the South Australian contemporary music industry” – also shared a tribute to Dunstan, declaring him to have been “a true champion of the South Australian music industry”. The organisation continued: “Truly one of a kind and an extraordinary larger-than-life character, Robert will be greatly missed by many. His dedication to local artists and his love and enthusiasm for music and art will long live on in South Australians’ hearts and memories.”

Dozens of Adelaide artists have shared tributes in Dunstan’s memory, including The Black Sorrows (who called him “a true champion of Australian music”), Dino Jag (who spoke of “so many wonderful memories of interviews, conversations and a shared bevy”) and Feed The Fire (who said he “never had anything but graciousness and kind words for our band”).

In a lengthy tribute shared to her personal Facebook page, singer-songwriter Melanie Horsnell remembered Dunstan as a close friend and “Australian music legend”. She wrote: “I feel too sad writing how much we adored him today, I’d rather have just rung him last week and told him if I’d known! How do we not really adore those around us that hold us up, Robert held up the whole Adelaide scene, he was always so helpful!”

Similarly, The Finishing School frontwoman Emily Combe honoured Dunstan in her own tribute as someone who “was always friendly, had a witty sense of humour and supported the music scene of South Australia with fierce support”.

In 2017, Dunstan was honoured at the South Australian Music Awards, taking home the Ryan Freeman Live Music Award. As it was put best by Reddit user BlokeDownUnder, he will be remembered as “a lovely, down to earth bloke, and just about the most generous person you could hope to find”.