Dingo ate my baby

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"A dingo ate my baby!" is a cry popularly attributed to Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, as part of the 1980 death of Azaria Chamberlain case, at Uluru in the Northern Territory, Australia. The Chamberlain family had been camping near the rock when their nine-week-old daughter was taken from their tent. Prosecuting authorities rejected her story about a dingo as far-fetched, securing convictions for murder against her, along with her then-husband Michael Chamberlain as an accessory after the fact. After years of challenge in the courts, both parents were absolved of the crime, and a coroner found that Azaria was indeed killed by a dingo. [1]

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The phrase was popularised via the case, but Chamberlain is reported to have either called out to her husband, "the dingo's got my baby," "a dingo took my baby!", [2] "that dog's got my baby!" or "my God, my God, a dingo has got my baby!" [1] In the 1988 film Evil Angels (also known as A Cry in the Dark), Chamberlain, as played by Meryl Streep, exclaims, "The dingo's got my baby!". In the 1991 Seinfeld episode "The Stranded", Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) uses the phrase "the dingo ate your baby" while mimicking an Australian accent in a scene at a party.

In the 1994 movie The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert , during a game of charades, a character depicts a famous woman, with a baby, and a canine with Lindy Chamberlain being the answer.

In the 1994 episode of Frasier "Flour Child", when Eddie the dog is attacking a bag of flour, Daphne says in an Australian accent, "That dingo's got your baby."

In the 1995 episode of The Simpsons "Bart vs. Australia", when Bart receives a call from Australia to complain about a prank call, he responds, "Hey, I think I hear a dingo eating your baby!" [3]

In a 1997 episode of the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer , the character Oz belonged to a band called Dingoes Ate My Baby. [4]

In a 1998 children's film The Rugrats Movie , the young toddlers are discovered to be missing, resulting in the involvement of law enforcement and the media. There is a line where one of the reporters at the scene asks, "Is it true a dingo ate your baby?" [5]

In the 2003 comedy movie Kangaroo Jack when Charlie and Louis encountered a pack of Dingoes in the desert Louis says "Charlie you gotta help me out man they gonna to get me like they got that baby"

In the 2006 episode "Mother Tucker" from Family Guy , Stewie Griffin references the phrase in the announcement, "From the station that reaches the beaches, you're listening to Dingo and the Baby". In the 2012 episode "Vestigial Peter", Peter buys a dingo named Bingo and uses it to get rid of his vestigial twin, Chip Griffin. But the plan backfires and Bingo takes Stewie away.[ citation needed ]

In the 2008 comedy film Tropic Thunder , "I'm sorry a dingo ate your baby" is a line used by Brandon T. Jackson's character in a mocking way towards Robert Downey Jr.’s character, an Australian actor who plays an African American and gets offended, stating, "You know that’s a true story? Lady lost a kid? You about to cross some lines."

In the 2011 song "Lullaby" by Tim Minchin, appearing to be sung ironically to a baby that won't go to sleep, a reference is made stating "Now all I have left is to hope that a dingo will sneak in and rip off your fat bitching head". [6]

In season 5, episode 20 of the sitcom Modern Family , Claire spends the majority of the family vacation in Australia working on a big project for her company. When the family chide her for this, she tells them how invested she is in the project, repeatedly saying, "It's my baby." Near the end of the episode, whilst trying to complete her presentation, a dingo goes into the tent and steals the laptop. Claire announces to the family, "A wild dog just stole my laptop!", to which Alex responds, "That seems like a missed opportunity."

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Alice Lynne "Lindy" Chamberlain-Creighton is a New Zealand–born Australian woman who was convicted in one of Australia's most publicised murder trials. Accused of killing her nine-week-old daughter, Azaria, while camping at Uluru in 1980, she maintained that she saw a dingo leave the tent where Azaria was sleeping. The prosecution case was circumstantial and depended on forensic evidence.

Michael Leigh Chamberlain 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 in the Northern Territory, Australia. Chamberlain's then-wife Lindy was falsely convicted of the baby's murder in 1982 and he was convicted of being an accessory after the fact. The findings of a 1987 royal commission ultimately exonerated the couple, but not before they were subjected to sensationalist reporting and intense public scrutiny.

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Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain was a nine-week-old Australian baby girl who was killed by a dingo on the night of 17 August 1980 during a family camping trip to Uluru in the Northern Territory. Her body was never found. Her parents, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain, reported that she had been taken from their tent by a dingo. However, Lindy was tried for murder and spent more than three years in prison. Michael received a suspended sentence. Lindy was released only after Azaria's jacket was found near a dingo lair and new inquests were opened. In 2012, 32 years after Azaria's death, the Chamberlains' version of events was officially supported by a coroner.

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Nipper Winmarti also recorded as Nipper Winmati was a Pitjantjatjara man who worked as an Aboriginal tracker at the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park where he was also recognised as a Traditional Owner. Winmarti worked as a tracker following the death of Azaria Chamberlain in 1980 and believed that baby Azaria had been taken by a dingo; he was the only Aboriginal tracker to give evidence at the first inquest.

References

  1. 1 2 "Inquest into the death of Azaria Chantel Loren Chamberlain [2012] NTMC 020" (PDF). Coroners Court of the Northern Territory . Northern Territory Government of Australia. 12 June 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-06-12. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  2. "Using the Chamberlain Case to explore evidence in history" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2011. Retrieved 2014-10-25., National Museum of Australia, p. 7, 2001. Accessed 2014-10-25.
  3. "The Simpsons - HEY MR PRIME MINISTA!". YouTube . 21 February 2013.
  4. Anderson, Joshua (August 13, 2021). "Battle of the Bands! Dingoes Ate My Baby from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'". Film Cred. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  5. {{https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIU9LnNfQLA YouTube }}
  6. Lullaby by Tim Minchin, 16 February 2011, retrieved 2024-01-03

Further reading