Mr Dunstan and his late brothers Jack and Arthur operated a timber and hardware business in Thomas Mitchell Drive, which at its peak in the late 1980s employed 150 people.

The site is being redeveloped for new headquarters for North East Water.

Mr Dunstan’s father Arthur began a timber yard on the corner of Beechworth Road and Thomas Mitchell Drive in 1935 when he won the contract to build municipal saleyards on Melbourne Road and later expanded the business as A. Dunstan & Sons.

This relocated in 1974 to Thomas Mitchell Drive site, which was next to the Wodonga racecourse where Les Dunstan became one of the driving forces in its revival in the early 1980s.

The Wodonga track was plagued by problems brought on by wet weather.

As president of the Wodonga and District Turf Club from 1980 to 1985, Mr Dunstan set it on the path to now having one of the best wet weather tracks in the state.

Former president Terry Doolan credited Mr Dunstan for a large part of the turnaround.

“In the early days when we were down and out, he had a lot to do with us moving in the right direction,” Mr Doolan said.

“We had a lot of problems with our tracks.

“They couldn’t handle any rain and the sand track was always a mud heap in winter.

“He put a few things in place to get us started.”

He helped save the club from potential extinction by playing a lead role in starting the training centre off Victoria Cross Parade.

Mr Dunstan and his late wife Dorothy raised a large family.

He was life member of the race club and Mrs Dunstan has a race named in honour, the Dot Dunstan Sprint, which is held on Wodonga Cup day.

A funeral service will be held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Wodonga on Friday at 10.30am.