Stuart is the fourth son of a soldier settler family in the Western District of Victoria.
Beaufort Football Club then playing in the Ballarat League recruited him in 1976 on permit initially.
He was initially refused a clearance from his former club until he decided to stand out of football rather than continue with SMW Rovers.
After joining Beaufort full-time in 1978 he won the Henderson medal that year in the Ballarat Football League.
After arriving in 1979 from Beaufort, Atkin played a lot of reserves football before finally breaking into the Collingwood seniors in 1980.