John and Moira Gillard are both stunned by the speedy turn of events which made their daughter Australia's first female prime minister.
"In our wildest dreams, we would not have anticipated anything like this," Mr Gillard told reporters in their Adelaide home on Thursday.
Asked how he was feeling after his daughter was appointed prime minister when Kevin Rudd stood down as Labor Party leader, Mr Gillard replied: "Elated, excited, mindful of the enormous job ahead of binding the party together."
Welsh-born Mr Gillard said his daughter was always destined to be a high achiever, describing her as a "formidable person, highly intellectual".
"Julia, in whatever endeavour, would have risen to the top I think, or certainly to a strong position," he said.
"Julia is unique, hard working, passionate, driven by noble ideals, wants to do good things for the country."
Mr Gillard believed his daughter would win the looming election but described Liberal leader Tony Abbott as "an adversary that is formidable".
"I hope it will be a clean election, I hope it will be fought on issues that confront the country, that it will not be a race to the bottom of the barrel, as it were," he said.
