Dean Alston

Who is Dean Alston?

Dean John Douglas Alston is an Australian cartoonist who joined The West Australian newspaper in 1986.

Dean Alston was born in South Perth, Western Australia. He grew up in Mount Pleasant and attended Applecross Senior High School. In 1967 he started a cadetship in cartography with Western Australia's Lands and Surveys Department. In 1980, he bought into the Carine Glades Tavern, running it until 1984. In 1985, Alston was employed by The West Australian. He took over as editorial cartoonist the following year. As of December 2012, he was estimated to have published over 12,000 cartoons and won numerous awards, including a Walkley Award in 1991.

In September 1997 The West Australian published an Alston cartoon entitled Alas Poor Yagan, which criticised the fact that the return of Yagan's head had become a source of conflict among the Indigenous Australians of Western Australia, instead of fostering unity. The cartoon could also be interpreted as casting aspersions on the motives and legitimacy of indigenous people with mixed racial heritage. The content of the cartoon offended many Aboriginal people, but many people saw it as a humorous poke at the "sacred cow" of indigenous sensitivities. The elder Robert Bropho levelled accusations of racism against The West Australian. Eventually the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission ruled that the cartoon made inappropriate references to Noongar beliefs but did not breach racial discrimination law. This ruling was upheld on appeal by the Federal Court of Australia. Bropho was later convicted for offences against children and jailed. The Aboriginal settlement that he presided over was closed in 2003 by order of the state premier Geoff Gallop after the suicide of a young girl living in the camp.