Michael Leigh Chamberlain (27 February 1944 – 9 January 2017) was a New Zealand-Australian writer, teacher and pastor falsely implicated in the August 1980 death of his missing daughter Azaria, which was later demonstrated to be the result of a dingo attack while the family was camping near Uluru (then usually called Ayers Rock) in the Northern Territory, Australia.
[2] In 1977 the family moved to Queensland, where Chamberlain produced and presented a radio program called The Good Life, a commentary on lifestyle and culture throughout the northern parts of the state.
[4] The family had several encounters with dingoes after making camp at Uluru, including on the night of 17 August when Chamberlain fed one a piece of crust.
Because of the vast size of the rock and the scrubby nature of the surrounding terrain, it was eight days before Brett's remains were discovered, lying below the bluff where he had lost his footing and in an area full of dingo lairs.
[1][7] The exoneration was based on a rejection of the two key points of the prosecution's case—particularly the alleged fetal haemoglobin evidence—and of bias and invalid assumptions made during the initial trial.
[2] In 2002, Chamberlain attained a Doctor of Philosophy (education) degree from the University of Newcastle for his thesis entitled "The changing role of Ellen White in Seventh-day Adventism with reference to sociocultural standards at Avondale College".
[4][5] Chamberlain stood as a Liberal candidate for the seat of Lake Macquarie in the 2003 New South Wales parliamentary election, achieving a 5.2% swing against sitting member Jeff Hunter.
[2] However, the swing was not enough to claim the seat and Chamberlain went on to accept a three-year teaching post at an Aboriginal high school in Brewarrina, New South Wales.
[2] Chamberlain died on 9 January 2017, aged 72, at Gosford Hospital on the New South Wales Central Coast due to complications of acute leukaemia,[13] and had a farewell service held at the Avondale College's Seventh-day Adventist Church one week later.