Australia's deeply ingrained racism has been laid bare in a scathing coroner's report, which reveals that an investigation into the 1988 death of Indigenous teenager Mark Haines was severely hampered by racial prejudice. The 17-year-old Gomeroi boy's body was found on train tracks outside Tamworth on 16 January 1988, with police initially concluding it was a suicide. However, Deputy State Coroner Harriet Grahame has now overturned this finding, describing the original inquiry as "deeply flawed, superficial and inadequate from the outset."
The Haines family had long disputed the ruling, suspecting foul play and believing that the investigation would have been handled differently if Mark had not been Indigenous. This sentiment was echoed by Coroner Grahame, who stated it was "inconceivable that such a superficial investigation would have taken place… had a young white teenager from the right side of town been found on the train tracks in similar circumstances." She highlighted issues including the swift removal of Mark's body and the lack of forensic testing on a nearby crashed car and the train.
The coroner noted that while other factors contributed, the investigation occurred against a backdrop of deeply entrenched racism prevalent in Tamworth and regional New South Wales during that era. Crucially, the presence of a towel placed under Mark's head led Grahame to rule out suicide. She also dismissed a rumour regarding local boxer Eddie Davis but suggested that Mark's close friend, Glenn Mannion, likely possessed more information about the events of that night, despite his denials.
The findings mark a significant development for Mark's family, who have campaigned for decades for the truth. His uncle, Don Craigie, who tirelessly advocated for a re-investigation, expressed his family's enduring grief and their conviction that Mark did not die by suicide. "We knew our Mark and we did not believe that Mark would go out on the tracks alone," Craigie stated, adding that his nephew was a "shining light" to his parents, who died without knowing what truly happened.
Coroner Grahame expressed her "deep personal regret" that the inquest did not provide a definitive breakthrough for the family but recommended that Mark's death be referred back to the NSW Police's unsolved homicide unit. This referral is for further investigation, including DNA analysis of a cigarette lighter found near the tracks. A reward of A$1 million (approximately £520,000) for information remains in place. The NSW Aboriginal Legal Service credited Don Craigie's persistence for these findings, confirming his belief that racism compromised the original police work.