It was the story that shocked and subsequently gripped the nation – a baby girl, Azaria, was savagely snatched from her tent by a dingo while on a camping trip at Uluru.
So ghastly and tragic was the story, that it was almost unbelievable, so much so that many actually didn’t believe it all.
Furthermore, the tragic death of Azaria led to her mother, Lindy Chamberlain, being wrongly convicted and jailed for murdering her daughter.
In 1986, the discovery of Azaria’s matinee jacket – which Lindy always claimed Azaria was wearing when a dingo snatched her – led to Lindy’s immediate release and then the overturning of her conviction in 1988 – but it took until 2012 for an inquest to officially conclude a dingo killed Azaria.
Amongst all the grief and tragedy there was still love. In fact, two loves in Lindy’s life, the first being her husband and pastor Michael Chamberlain…
Lindy and Michael with three of their children after her release.
(Getty)Marriage with Michael
With two sons, Aidan and Reagan, and a baby girl on the way, Kahlia, when she was sentenced to jail, husband Michael was left to care for their children.
Despite being wrongly accused by so many, Lindy admitted, as reported by News.com.au in 2016 that “it’s my ex-husband” that’s hardest to forgive.
While many would assume the tragedy and hardship the couple endured led to their divorce in 1991, Lindy revealed in her autobiography Through My Eyes that wasn’t the case.
“Many thought my marriage break-up was due to the case and the additional pressures of prison and the press, but it was not.”
Lindy and Michael’s marriage came to an end in 1991.
(Getty)However, former journalist and the Chamberlains’ longtime friend Malcolm Brown previously told Who that their baby’s death drove a wedge between them.
“Lindy was in jail for more than three years. Mike was stuck with the two boys and Kahlia with foster parents, so there were difficulties that arose between them then.”
He added, “When Lindy got out of jail she published a book in 1990 and you could see then she was critical of Michael, accusing him amongst other things of saying that she was too fat. In fact she was pregnant with Kahlia during the trial and he was accusing her of being overweight.”
In 2012, the former pastor said he and Lindy had cut all ties, and they had “both changed” as a result of the accusations against them.
Michael died in 2017 at the age of 72 having succumbed to complications from acute leukemia.
Finding love again
Lindy found love while on a speaking tour of the US in 1992 where she met her now husband, Rick Creighton.
They were married 10 months later after he won the approval of Aidan, Reagan and Khalia.
“I call him God’s bonus at the end of all this,” she told Woman’s Day last year.
Lindy’s found happiness with Rick.
(Getty)Lindy says Rick helped her to leave the hurt behind, and that she became a better person by forgiving the detectives and forensic scientists who led the witch hunt to wrongly convict her, let alone the millions of Australians who were so fast to judge her.
“Would I have chosen to learn the things I’ve learnt through other ways? You bet I would have. Did I want my daughter to die so I could learn to forgive? No, I did not. But am I sorry I learnt to forgive? No, I am not. You can let your mind be occupied by regrets or by vengeance or by anger or you can move on.
“It’s part of your history but it doesn’t have to be part of your future or your present. It’s part of the foundation of who you are, but it doesn’t have to be all you are. You don’t forget, but your coping methods and your ability to deal with things gets better, and time helps that.”
