National Museum of Australia - Chamberlain trial drawings slideshow

Chamberlain trial drawings slideshow

The Veronica O'Leary collection of courtroom drawings from the 1982 trial of Lindy and Michael Chamberlain feature key figures and moments from one of the most high-profile criminal proceedings in Australian history.

Although she was eventually exonerated Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murder and imprisoned for more than three years.

The ink and pencil drawings are the work of artist Veronica O'Leary. Reprography by Jason McCarthy.

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Sketch showing a light-brown coloured dog walking in rocky terrian. The dog has pointed ears, lighter paws and its tongue is hanging out.

O'Leary created some drawings, such as this one, for use as alternate footage during voice overs by reporters. After the drawings went to air she added the quotes from witnesses or newspapers about the case.

'To take advantage of laxity in any prey species ...'

Sketch showing a bearded man in a courtroom, sitting in front of a microphone. The man wears a brown-coloured uniform. A judge, wearing red robes with black trim, is partially visible, sitting higher in the rear of the sketch. The words '...to take advantage of laxity in any prey species and by this I mean children and babies...' and 'I haven't the slightest doubt a dingo would enter a tent if the situation arose' have been applied over the sketch, to the right of the man who is testifying.

Derek Roff was the park ranger at Ayers Rock and he testified about the behaviour of dingos in the area at the time. He believed the Chamberlains' account as it was consistent with his knowledge of the increasingly dangerous behaviour of the animals at the campsite. A sheet of acetate with Letraset lettering was added to this drawing to create an overlay of text for broadcast.

'Lindy listens to her counsel'

Courtroom scene showing a woman in a short-sleeved green top seated a table facing a judge. The woman rests her right elbow on the table and her head on her hand. Three people wearing wigs and dark legal robes stand in front of the woman, facing the judge. One stands addressing the judge, who is seen sitting at the bench wearing a wig and red robes.

Lindy Chamberlain, wearing green, listens to her lawyer, John Phillips QC, give his final address to the court. Her posture conveys the exhaustion she must have felt, heavily pregnant and at the end of a six-week trial.

'The Verdict - GUILTY!'

Pencil sketch showing four people sitting behind a dock, with an olive coloured background. A woman wearing a pink dress with dark spots sits centrally, with a man dressed in a white shirt and black tie to her right. Two other people sit to her left. 'The Verdict - GUILTY!' is written in pencil at the top right, with other writing at the bottom and the artists' signature bottom left.

This drawing depicts the dramatic moment when Lindy Chamberlain was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Lindy's face is made the focal point as the most detailed part of the drawing, along with the heavy black lines and the pink of her dress.

She would stay in prison until 7 February 1986, when the discovery of the Azaria's matinee jacket proved that she had been telling the truth about what Azaria had been wearing and why there wasn't more evidence of a dingo on the jumpsuit. It instigated the royal commission that was held into the case and finally the complete exoneration of the Chamberlains.

Chamberlain trial drawings slideshow

Chamberlain trial drawings slideshow

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Dingo

'To take advantage of laxity in any prey species ...'

'Lindy listens to her counsel'

'The Verdict - GUILTY!'