The lights of Surfers Paradise have always shone bright for teenagers looking for a big night out. For 17-year- old Christine Coghill, those lights had a special allure. An illuminated path to continue her end of high school celebrations. These were the last days of disco as the eighties ushered in a new dance floor vibe. A time when the lifestyles of Gold Coasters were more free-spirited – and perhaps, less aware of the dangers that lurked after dark.
Christine had recently completed Year 12 at Miami High. The freckle-faced red-head was a popular, outgoing young lady. At school she excelled in several areas whilst been named a Sports House captain. In her spare time Christine trained in judo and was known to be a talented roller skater often visiting the local Miami rink. Previously she worked part-time for two years at Big W inside Sundale Shopping Centre at Southport. The teenager’s bedroom at her Florida Gardens family home was adorned with soft toys, sport trophies and a Boomtown Rats poster.
Christine’s favourite hang-out Champagne Charlie’s (formerly known as “The Mousetrap”), was a nightclub on Beach Road in the centre of Surfers. The venue blended all types of music genres and encompassed the party vibe of the new decade. In recent months the teenager had formed a close friendship with Sorrento girl 18-year-old Sally Donaghy. Sally worked most nights at Champagne Charlie’s and also shared a love of local nightlife. In a short time, the two became almost inseparable. Christine was well known to the regulars of the nightclub and described by many as “full of life.” Patrons at the club remember the young red-head regularly coming to the podium to showcase her vocal abilities. Sally recalls, “Christine had a beautiful voice and dreamed of becoming a singer.”
On the fateful night of Wednesday 10th December 1980, the two girls had dinner at the Coghill’s family home, located on TE Peters Drive, before heading into Surfers Paradise. It was a fun time with those in attendance at Champagne Charlie’s in excellent spirits. After leaving the venue together in the early hours of Thursday morning Sally spoke with Christine. Sally told her friend she intended to continue the night at another club close by. Christine replied she was heading home on foot – a distance of about 3km. The girls parted ways. Donaghy remembered “She (Christine) was smiling from ear to ear as a guy she liked told her he liked her too.”
Being of good physical fitness, Christine had been known to walk home from Surfers previously. What transpired over the next half hour or so remains unclear to this day. Eyewitnesses viewed her heading south on foot beside the Gold Coast Highway at 3.20pm. Then about 3.50am a truck driver made a chilling discovery on the roadside along Nerang- Broadbeach Road, adjacent to the Surfers Paradise Golf Club. He found Christine lying unconscious in her blue dress. Ambulance officers arrived and assessed her in a critical condition with significant head injuries. She also had slight abrasions to other parts of her body including chin, nose, thumb and her right side. Police noted Christine’s shoes were found in her handbag on the roadside. The teenager was immediately rushed to Gold Coast Hospital clinging to life.
Tragically the teenager succumbed to her injuries three days later in the intensive care unit at Southport, surrounded by her family. Christine was the youngest child of Jim and Lesley Coghill and had three older brothers Robert, Trevor and John. Father Jim was a retired farmer from country Victoria. Since the family’s arrival in Queensland in 1976, Jim had commenced a small mowing busy to stay active. Mr Coghill tearily told the Gold Coast Bulletin that “he was sure she (Christine) would not have hitched a ride with someone she did not know.” He was adamant that his daughter would have called to be picked up if she had no safe way of getting home.
He added: “It’s all so hard to believe.”
“We loved her from the day she was born.”
The investigation was led Detective Sergeant Bob Cassidy and supported by six highly trained detectives. Cassidy confirmed that the forensic examination of the victim “did not reveal any sign of rape or that the girl (Christine) was involved in any sort of struggle.”
On Wednesday 17th December a mystery caller phoned Brisbane CIB to inquire what a person could be charged with “if his female passenger jumped out of his car after he had propositioned her”. The man identified himself as “Phillip.” Police would later say the caller spoke with a “mature voice.” Phillip quickly hung up when police told him it would depend on the circumstances between him and the passenger. Public requests for the caller to phone police went unanswered. Was this “Phillip” making an admission of involvement in Coghill’s death or was he simply a crank caller? Detectives were not sure but admitted to local media that the man said things that were possibly related to their inquiries.
The manner of Christine’s death left police pondering the specifics of what may have transpired within the vehicle in question. Some investigators queried whether her tragic death could be classified as murder investigation. Adding to speculation, Det Sgt Cassidy would tell the media that police “are also investigating Christine’s friends and associates and the circles she moved in.”
The teenager’s death reignited the recent debates about the legality and banning of hitchhiking in Queensland. The week following the Coghill tragedy the then Police Commissioner and Gold Coast resident Russ Hinze MLA made a submission to state cabinet aiming to “increase on the spot hitchhiking fines for individuals from two dollars to twenty dollars. The cabinet approved Hinze’s submission immediately and police commenced enforcing the new changes the following weekend.
Sources:
Christine wouldn’t hitch. Gold Coast Bulletin. Paul Wilson. 16 December 1980
Father makes plea on hitch-hike girl. Sunday Mail. Frank Hampson. 14 December 1980
Girl near death: Tussle after hitch-hike theory. The Courier Mail. Jim Crawford & Peter Sherlock. 12 December 1980.
Hitchhiking girl dies. Canberra Times. 15 December 1980
Roadblocks set up for death ride car. Gold Coast Bulletin. Paul Burke. 18 December 1980
Roadside riddle of injured girl. Gold Coast Bulletin. Paul Burke. 12 December 1980
Vigil of hope for dying girl. Gold Coast Bulletin. Paul Wilson. 13 December 1980