The fight for freedom was to be a long and arduous process that would take nearly six years. From the moment the jury's verdict had been handed down, the battle had begun. It was to be fought on three major fronts: the popular, the scientific and the legal, by people from all walks of life outraged at the injustice that had been done.
The popular movement to enlighten the Australian public of the truth about the Azaria Chamberlain case had begun as far back as October 1982, before the opening of the trial. Mr. L Williams began placing advertisements in Adelaide's Sunday Mail blaming the Northern Territory Government for Azaria's death because of its insistence on supporting a policy that allowed wild dingoes to roam in family camping grounds. He continued to run these advertisements until September 1985, costing him $5000.00 in personal funds. His last advertisement claimed that by convicting Lindy Chamberlain of murdering Azaria, the Northern Territory Government had been acquitted along with the dingo.
The "Free Lindy Campaign" would come to appear to be the most well organised public rallying effort ever to be seen in Australia. In fact, it was mostly due to the spontaneous efforts of individuals who had risen to the cause, drawing with them thousands of new supporters. At its base were men and women who gave tirelessly to the cause of justice and the Chamberlains. People such as Veronica Flanigan who went from door to door in her village, 120 kilometres southwest of Sydney, gathering names for a petition. Mrs. J Edwards spent hours in Perth central mall handing out leaflets urging people to write to parliamentarians about the case. In Melbourne supporters stood on street corners, collecting signatures, twelve hours a day. A group of Brisbane women organised the mailing of masses of letters to politicians and newspapers. A schoolteacher traveled from Victoria to Darwin to set up vigil with placards outside Parliament to protest 'bush justice'. The efforts of all of these people resulted in the gathering of the largest number of signatures on a petition for a private person in Australia's history, numbering in excess of 130,000.
Every means possible was used to keep the Azaria Chamberlain case alive in the minds of the Australian public, meetings were organised all over the country, thousands of letters were written to newspapers and politicians, leaflets and flyers were written, printed and distributed, letter-box drops were organised, bumper stickers and t-shirts were printed. A pre-recorded information service was established to enable supporters to gain up-to-the-minute information. Hundreds of thousands of books, booklets and pamphlets covering various aspects of the case were distributed all over the country. In an effort to co-ordinate all of these individual activities, a newsletter was created. By January 1988, fourteen issues had been published. It covered detailed reports of every aspect of the case and the results of all legal proceedings, as they became available. [...]
It was through the tireless and unwavering support and actions of these people that an inquiry into the Chamberlain case was finally opened. The public outcry had become so loud that politicians could no longer ignore the facts, and action was at last taken.
