Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Don was born at Tumby Bay on 11 Jan 21 (a Doc Wibberly baby) to Otto Fauser and Olive Fauser (nee Kempster). He was one of 12 children, 5 girls and 7 boys, only 4 of whom are still living. His father was a farmer at Port Neill.
Don went to school at Dixon (near Port Neill), leaving at Grade 7, as did most children of that time. He then worked on local farms until age 16, before moving to Wharminda to continue farm laboring until joining the Army in 1941.
He joined the Army in Adelaide, then went to Woodside, SA, for his training: on the completion of which he was allocated as a re-enforcement to 2/27 Battalion. Typical of the Army, this was changed when it was found that he had a drivers licence (not very common at that time) and he was reallocated to Armoured Corps and sent to Puckapunyal, Vic. Here he was retrained as a driver.
In 1942 he was posted to Alice Springs as a driver and assisted in the evacuation of women and children from Darwin. In 1943 he was posted Bamaga/Seisia area (Qld) and was responsible for safe hand dispatches to Thursday Island and Horn Island
In 1944 he was posted to Maurawkee in Dutch New Guinea (now Irian Jaya) again as a driver. He remained in this location until the end of the war. On return to Australia he was posted as a guard at the Army detention centre in Tamworth.
This was probably the most important posting of his career, as it was here that he met the love of his life, Yvonne Ryan. They met at the local dance, even though Don admits he can not dance; it was their love of horses that saw romance bloom. They were married on 13 Apr 46 and had 4 children (2 boys and 2 girls – Yvette still lives in Tumby Bay).
In that year the couple returned to Tumby Bay and Don took up share farming before being allocated a Soldiers Settlers block. This did not work out so they returned to Tamworth in 1951 and bought their own farm; it was on this farm that Don broke his neck as the result of a horse fall and is very lucky to be alive, let alone not paralysed.
After recovering from his accident the family moved to Moree, where Don became head stockman on Bundy Station. They then moved to Gundagai, where Don was the manager of a station. In 1966 the family returned to the district and Don became manager of Tallalla Station at Louth Bay. Don remained in this position until he retired 23 years later in Louth Bay. The family took up residence in Tumby Bay in 1998, thus the circle was completed.
Don was a keen sportsman, having played football for both Port Neill and Tumby Bay and being a distance runner of some repute, but (other than Yvonne) his real love was horses: the couple was involved in show horses and Don became the Chief Stipendiary Steward for Port Lincoln and the Eyre Peninsula.
He has also been a very active member of the RSL, having been a member of Port Neill, Gundagai, Port Lincoln, Wanilla and Tumby Bay Sub Branches. He was an office bearer in many of these clubs.