William Dunstan (SN 3812) was born in Clementston, north of Creswick, where he attended the Clementston State School. He was living in Bradshaw Street in Ballarat when, as a 19 year old blacksmith, he enlisted in the 23rd Battalion, 9th Reinforcements on October 12th 1915. His unit embarked from Melbourne on board the Warilda in February 1916. By the end of March he had joined the 23rd Battalion in France. Illness limited his service for his first couple of months when he was also disciplined for 'being absent from Church Parade'. On November 9th 1916, towards the end of the Somme campaign, he was wounded in action, sustaining a gunshot wound to the face which necessitated his evacuation to the 1st Auxilliary Hospital at Harefield in England. He rejoined his battalion in December 1916 and saw further action at Bullecourt before moving to Westhoek Ridge near Ypres in Belgium. On September 20th 1917 he was reported 'missing' but a Court of Enquiry in January 1918 confirmed he had been killed instantly by an enemy shell burst. He was 21 years of age, has no known grave, and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres, and on the grave of his parents in Ballarat.

His brother Stanley also served in the AIF and is honoured with a tree in the Avenue.