[1][2] Thomas Edward Dutton was born on 10 May 1935 in Dayboro (near Brisbane) in Queensland, Australia.
His father, Lewis (Ted) Dutton, was the Head Teacher of Mayfield State School.
In 1936, Lewis Dutton was transferred to a rural two-teacher school in Gooburrum, located near Bundaberg, where he worked for 37 years.
In 1959, he was promoted to Area Education Officer in Port Moresby Subdistrict (now the National Capital District) and was in charge of Administration and Mission Schools from Manumanu to Gaire.
[3] Dutton worked as a researcher at the Australian National University (ANU) from 1969 to 1974, where he was a specialist on Southeast Papuan languages.