It would take a hell of a lot to make me ever say I am ashamed to be an Australian and fortunately we are a nation without the blemished past of others, we are lucky to not have a history peppered with violence and atrocity. Our PM acknowledged the injustices played on the indigenous people even though the apology was based on the actions of past governments and welfare workers – he said sorry which is something other nations could take into account when pointing the finger at others…
Chamberlain family tent at campsite
One event in our past though which still makes me see red is the story of Lindy Chamberlain and how she was rail-roaded over the disappearance of her nine week old baby Azaria at a camp site near Ayers Rock (above) back in August 1980. We all now have to concede that the baby was taken by a wild dog – a dingo – and that the baby’s matinee jacket was placed at the site, where it was found six years after Lindy was sent to prison, by an individual. I always suspected that person was a member of the Northern Territory Police, the instigators of the vile campaign which led to Lindy spending six years of her life behind bars. Six years that she lost from being a mother to her young children and a wife to her husband. That tiny article of clothing was the lynch pin and it’s supposed ‘absence’ or non-existence – was what nailed the case for the prosecution. How strange that it suddenly turned up in a dusty spot beside the Rock some six years later…it’s re-appearance secured Lindy’s release. The matinee jacket DID exist, just as she had said. Someone in authority, who had wanted to do Lindy Chamberlain a lot of harm, held it back and then revealed it when the right time came. Now jury files kept secret for almost 30 years have been revealed to show just how badly Lindy Chamberlain was treated and how the bigoted NT police fought hard to see her blamed for the disappearance and death of her baby.
Looking back it does make me ashamed of the way my fellow Australian’s behaved over that whole case, at how the Chamberlain family were treated in the most appalling manner. The only other story which comes close is that of the little girl from Kincumber in NSW, Eve Van Grafhorst, whose family was literally run out of town when it was revealed she was attending the local pre-school while carrying the AIDS virus. That was in 1985 and, like Lindy and her family, the Van Grafhorsts too were spat at in the street, verbally abused and hounded by ignorant individuals. In the end they left Australia for New Zealand and found a new life and compassion, and where Eve eventually died at the age of eleven.
Chamberlain family 1980
Whether or not you have changed your mind about how you thought about Lindy Chamberlain 30 years ago, or even if you are as sure of her innocence today as back then, you certainly have to condemn the Australian justice system for the way in which the young mother was treated whilst in custody because it was truly shameful. The ordeal she endured would now raise howls of protest if it was applied to prisoners today – even female asylum seekers entering Australia illegally have a certain charter of ‘rights’ which ensures they are treated with dignity particularly if pregnant.
Guilty: Pregnant Lindy is taken to begin prison sentence.
In the latter stages of her pregnancy during her court case Lindy Chamberlain was subjected to hours of interrogation in a court room, made to sit on wooden benches which must have been extremely uncomfortable for her, she endured being closeted in confined accommodation in sweltering temperatures with no concessions made for her advanced condition – or the health of her baby. The worst indignity – after having been convicted and sent to prison for a crime she did not commit – was being forced to give birth to her baby girl while handcuffed to a female prison guard. It would not be allowed to happen now and it should not have been allowed to happen back then – I don’t think Lindy Chamberlain can ever get the apology she truly deserves.
Lindy and Azaria: August 1980
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And what people had to say…