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296 Deception at Work

The Chamberlain’s trip

On 13 August 1980, Michael Chamberlain, a pastor in the church of the Seventh Day Advent-
ists,4 set off from his home at Mount Isa with his wife Alice Lynne (‘Lindy’), six-year-old son
Reagan, four-year-old son Aiden and ten-week-old daughter Azaria to tour the Ayres Rock –
Alice Springs area. They drove off in their car packed with a tent and the usual holiday gear.

On 16 August 1980, which was a Saturday and for them a Sabbath, they arrived at Ayres
Rock. They found a camp site – which was almost full – and pitched their tent near to a barbe-
cue area and backing on to a patch of rough, bushy ground.

At breakfast on Sunday 17 August 1980 external evidence proved that the Chamberlains
discussed dingoes and how dangerous they are with Mr and Mrs West, fellow campers. The
Wests explained that their 12-year-old daughter had been grabbed by a dingo at the campsite.
The area in which the Chamberlains had parked was littered with dingo trails. Mrs Chamber-
lain did not reveal this conversation in her statement, but she did others, suggesting that she
was fully aware that dingoes were dangerous creatures and that her baby could be at risk. This
makes her subsequent actions even more incredible.

The Chamberlains went to see Ayres Rock and other sights and returned to their tent
just after dark. Mrs Chamberlain had a long conversation with a Tasmanian man about the
dangers of dingoes and warned him to be watchful for his 18-month-old daughter. With this
conversation fresh in her mind, Mrs Chamberlain put Azaria into their tent, dressed in a sin-
glet, jumpsuit, bootees and a matinee jacket and returned to join her husband, Aiden and the
Tasmanian couple at the barbecue.

A short while later, Michael Chamberlain said he heard Azaria cry and Lindy returned to
the tent to see a dingo trying to get out with something, that she could not identify, in its
mouth. Azaria had disappeared, although Reagan remained soundly asleep throughout. The
case grabbed the headlines, worldwide, and the story was made into a film, called A Cry in the
Dark, starring Meryl Streep. Twenty years later it is still a mystery.

After an extensive, but abortive, search for Azaria, the Chamberlains packed their posses-
sions and drove to a local motel where they stayed overnight. A district nurse, who had helped
with the search, went in their car with them. She saw Michael Chamberlain’s camera bag
lying on the floor alongside his seat and suggested she should move it. He resisted, saying that
it was always kept in the car in that position. Her recollection of this journey was to become
important later, because it was alleged that Azaria’s body had been hidden in the camera bag
and removed from the scene.

On Monday 18 August 1980, the family returned to their home in Mount Isa. The loss of
Azaria led to a major police enquiry, but her body has never been found.

Clothing found

Ten days later on 23 August 1980, a Mr. Goodwin found Azaria’s singlet, jump suit and bootees
just off the road in dense foliage some 10 miles away from the campsite. Although the baby’s
body was missing, only four studs on her jump suit had been undone and her bootees were
still inside the leggings. The forensic examination of this clothing became a central feature
of the case.

4 Merely mentioning this position can create unjustified prejudice