A cast of thousands, 30 years and christ knows how many tax payer dollars later....



The parents of Azaria Chamberlain say they are "relieved and delighted" to finally have closure after a Northern Territory coroner delivered a finding their baby daughter was killed by a dingo.

Speaking outside a Darwin court Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton thanked the people who had supported the family since their nine-week-old daughter's death in 1980.

"Obviously we're relieved and delighted to come to the end of this saga," Mrs Chamberlain-Creighton said outside the court.

"No longer will Australia be able to say that dingoes are not dangerous and do not attack unless provoked.

"We live in a beautiful country but it is dangerous."


Azaria's father Michael said the legal ordeal had been "terrifying" and "bitter at times".

"This battle to get to the legal truth has taken too long," he said.

"However, I am here to tell you that you can get justice even when you think that all is lost — but truth must be on your side.

"I cannot express strongly enough how important it is to pursue a just cause, even when it seems to be a mission impossible."

Azaria was nine weeks old when she was taken by a dingo at a campsite near Uluru, coroner Elizabeth Morris found.

Azaria's death certificate, which currently puts her cause of death as "unknown", will be altered to reflect the findings.

In her ruling, Ms Morris cited other examples of dingoes attacking children, as well as pointing out the existence of a dingo den less than 30m from where Azaria's clothing was found.

Handing down the verdict, Ms Morris held back tears while addressing Azaria's parents directly.

"I am so sorry for your loss," she said.

"Time does not remove the pain and sadness of the death of a child."

Ms Morris told them that new death certificates would be available at the Births, Deaths and Marriages office attached to the Darwin courthouse.

Mrs Chamberlain-Creighton was convicted for the murder of Azaria in 1982, while Mr Chamberlain was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact and given a suspended sentence.

A royal commission exonerated both parents in 1987, but a 1995 coronial inquest failed to determine Azaria's cause of death.

Source:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/8482191/dingo-took-azaria-from-tent-inquest