Jenkin was born in Adelaide and educated at various country schools and at Prince Alfred College, Wattle Park Teachers College, and the University of Adelaide from where he has received an MA.

[1] He spent two years working as a jackeroo on stations in northern South Australia.

In 1961, he founded the Tea and Damper Club, which was devoted to the preservation of Australian folklore, music and poetry.

[1] In 1966, Jenkin was appointed as a lecturer at Wattle Park Teachers College and then its successor institution the University of South Australia.

[1] In 1996, Graham Jenkin was awarded the title of National Non-Indigenous Person of the Year, by the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC), for services to Aboriginal history.