"A Dingo Took My Baby"

They were the words uttered by a confused Lindy Chamberlain that fateful night in 1980 in the shade of Uluru when the unfortunate mother rushed to tell her husband Michael their new baby Azaria had been snatched from their tent. Lindy had seen a quick blur of the dog disappearing with a bundle in it's mouth. Today, a Northern Territory coroner has finally concluded that Lindy told the truth.

Sam Neil & Meryl in Evil Angels

Lindy & Azaria

In 1988 Meryl Streep immortalized the line In the film Evil Angels ( A Cry In The Dark) which detailed the extraordinary events of one of Australia's most infamous mysteries.

Harry M.Miller & Lindy in 2009

The sad tale of the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain, and the subsequent witch-hunt against Lindy who was to be jailed, accused of Azaria's murder is probably even more relevant today with the Leveson Inquiry into the media underway in the UK and the recent Finklestein Inquiry in Australia.
Lindy was crucified in print, depicted as an awkward and cold woman. A cruel spotlight examined every minute detail of her actions and convinced the public she had murdered her own child.

Two years ago Lindy attended the book launch in Kings Cross of entrepreneur Harry M.Miller's autobiography. Miller became Lindy's agent during the turbulent years when she was cleared of the murder. Far from the cold, seemingly stern woman devoid of emotion depicted by the mass media in the 1980s, Chamberlain is warm and friendly.

As for Harry, today he is in a nursing home suffering from the onset of alzhiemers disease. The sudden change in the brilliant media manipulator has distressed his friends and family.

Fashion Brings Out The Big Names

David Jones was first cab off the rank with their Autumn Winter Fashion Launch at the Elizabeth Street store.



Dannii



Just to show there were no hard feelings now that the fashion duo from Sass & Bide, Heidi Middleton and Sarah Jane Clarke have decamped to the Myer chain of stores, a DJ's spokesman happily told any interviewer who would listen that sales of Sass & Bide fashion had been just a tiny, teeny fraction of DJ's income.

Myers must think otherwise having forked over $42M for around 65% of the brand.

Melissa George

Trundling through the grand marble floored store and past a photo station and then in circles around the ground floor and up 7 sets of escalators to DJ's former floor of boutique shopettes were Jane Ferguson , Harry M.Miller, Jan Logan, Grant Pearce, Mark Patrick, Lyndey Milan and Skye Leckie amongst the usual suspects who front Sydney and Melbourne's fashion parades.

Dannii Minouge was there and so was actor Melissa George , both looking trim and glam. ( If you have a spare few hours catch up on Melissa in the excellent HBO series In Treatment in which she stars opposite Gabriel Byrne).

Leggy beauties Sarah Murdoch and Megan Gale waltzed by. Alex Perry and Collette Dinnigan sat with Camilla Franks-all had their wares featured in the parade as did George Gross and Harry Who (both with deep suntans). Akira Isogawa. Carla Zampatti and her equally talented daughter Bianca Spender showed their latest and it wouldn't be a fashion show without Alex Perry, Alannah Hill and Josh Goot.

Needless to say, the gallons of Veuve Clicquot were eagerly quaffed.



Supermodels collide !



Sarah Murdoch & Megan Gale





Nicole Trunfio models





Sophie Faulkner in tight leather



no party is complete without Lara Bingle



Harry hits the headlines..

The UK's Sunday Express tabloid  has jumped on a few pages in Harry M.Miller's autobiography Confessions Of a Not So Secret Agent over his claims of a dinner party conversation with HRH Prince Charles.

  
According to Miller, Charles said in 1977 that the Royal family was past it's use by date and that Australia should be made a republic. Charle's was puzzled : “why Australia bothered with us – we are really yesterday’s news”. Miller also says Prince Charles "bedded" a number of local girls and was annoyed that the NSW Governor and Victoria Cross recipient Sir Roden Cutler (known to his friends as Rodent Cutlet ) interfered with Charles night-time plans by sitting up late for him at the rather magnificent if somewhat stuffy Government House perched high above the Opera House..


It tops a month of a brilliant publicity campaign by Harry, one of the best in the business that has seen the book flying off the shelves.  But is it true ?. There's a clue here and it concerns the late Governor. It's pretty common knowledge who Charles was really bedding and she wasn't the wife of a politician as Miller claims. But she was the wife of a VIP linked to Cutler whose career was nipped in the bud by the state Governor who was furious at the time. Nor can we quite see Sir Roden really giving the Royal heir a hard time-he was an avowed monarchist. It was Charlie's choice of partner who it's said he spent the entire visit to Australia with, that annoyed Cutler. Perhaps Harry is being kind with his confessions. The Prince's flame is still married to her husband who has since gone onto have a stellar career in other areas and become a pillar of the establishment. That career didn't however include his ambition-to follow in Sir Roden's footsteps.

stocking fillers

A week of book launches as everyone who is anyone gets their book out for Christmas. Peter Fitzsimmon's biography of flying pioneer Kingsford Smith looks like it will outsell the rest with TV host Ray Martin's autobiography a runner-up with a 100,000 print run.

'Super-agent' Harry M. Miller's "Confessions of a Not So Secret Agent' written with Rolling Stone & FMH managing editor Peter Holder should be a winner as well.

Written in a question and answer style it's a witty run down of Harry's 40 years as a show-biz promoter, manager and confidante of those whose careers fall upon difficult times like Lindy Chamberlain who was jailed and released over the sensational disappearance of her baby Azaria at Ayers Rock in the infamous Dingo Baby case ( Meryl Streep played her in Evil Angels) along with Stuart Diver who

Harry M. Miller above with Lindy Chamberlain

was trapped for days in the Thredbo snow avalanche disaster. Toss in a few affairs with his clients-Shirley Bassey and others and endless anecdotes about Harry's tours with everyone from Chubby Checker to the Rolling Stones. The 70's style club Kit'n'Caboodle in Kings Cross was the perfect location for a gathering of media heavyweights to toast Harry M.

(right) TV boss David Leckie, Deeta Colvin, Womans Weekly editor Deborah Thomas and radio king Alan Jones.

Christian the Lion's Ace Bourke & Vitek

Fashion heavyweights Peter Morrisey and Maggie Tabberer with media mogul Charles Curran