NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / World

Stabbed to death on backpacking holiday: Mum's agonising discoveries

NZ Herald
9 Jul, 2017 11:08 PM5 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

British backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung was killed at a North Queensland hostel. Photo / Facebook

British backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung was killed at a North Queensland hostel. Photo / Facebook

After British backpacker Mia Ayliffe-Chung was knifed over and over again in a Queensland hostel, she got up and raced to the bathroom, where she died on the floor.

But there was so little blood on the 20-year-old that paramedics thought she was still alive and tried to resuscitate her as well as another wounded UK traveller, Tom Jackson. "She was spotless," says Mia's mother, recalling how she also appeared scrubbed clean straight after she was born back in Derbyshire. "She came into the world spotless and left it in the same way."

Rosie Ayliffe has been retracing her daughter's steps through Australia almost a year after she was horrifically killed in remote Home Hill, 100 kilometres south of Townsville.

Rosie Ayliffe has been retracing her daughter's steps through Australia.
Rosie Ayliffe has been retracing her daughter's steps through Australia.

Much of what Rosie has discovered has been breathtakingly painful, but the former teacher is the type of person who needs to know the truth - and do something about it.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Mia was allegedly killed by Algerian-French backpacker Smail Ayad after he developed an obsessive crush on her. Tom was also stabbed and died later in hospital. They were all staying in remote Home Hill and completing the 88 days' farm work that can obtain visitors on 417 working holiday visas a second year extension to stay in Australia. Ayad has been preliminarily diagnosed with schizophrenia and referred to the Mental Health Court on two charges of murder.

Rosie made her first trip Down Under shortly after the tragedy, but says much of the trip was a blur. Later on, she began questioning the events that led to Mia's death, started writing a blog in the Independent and in less than a year, has become the leading campaigner for the rights of working backpackers in Australia.

Mia was completing 88 days of farm work while staying in Home Hill, near Townsville to gain a second-year extension to stay in Australia.
Mia was completing 88 days of farm work while staying in Home Hill, near Townsville to gain a second-year extension to stay in Australia.

Thanks largely to her investigations and tireless advocacy, it has become clear that backpackers in Australia are routinely exploited, mistreated and abused while completing their farm work.

News.com.au has heard numerous stories from backpackers who have been physically attacked, threatened, sexually harassed and assaulted, forced to work in dangerous conditions, had their passports confiscated or been blackmailed to perform sexual acts in return for sign-off, and underpaid or not paid at all.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A news.com.au investigation into the seedy underbelly of the backpacker scene in far north Queensland where young travellers like Mia pick fruit and vegetables revealed just how hostile the environment could be.

Last month, Rosie went to Home Hill to see where Mia died. Rosie planted two trees and placed a stone Buddha's head in the grounds in her daughter's memory - but has since heard the council has destroyed it.

"It was harrowing, it was horrible," she said. "I learnt things I didn't know."

Rosie met with other young backpackers and Australians who knew Mia during her year in Australia, which she mostly spent living on the Gold Coast and working at a bar. One of them was Dan Richards, who tried to save her.

Discover more

World

Cries of Allah in 'shocking' attack

24 Aug 03:12 AM
World

Delusional obsession behind stabbing

24 Aug 09:30 PM
World

Slain woman's ashes to be spread in NZ

30 Aug 08:25 PM
World

Facebook post sent before murder

09 Sep 10:38 PM

"Dan stayed with her right to the end talking to her holding her hand - what a hero," said Rosie. "He's a different person as a consequence, really struggling. He doesn't sleep. It's bad enough trying to recreate it in your mind - he had to be there."

British backpacker Tom Jackson died in hospital almost a week after he was stabbed while trying to protect Mia. Photo / Facebook
British backpacker Tom Jackson died in hospital almost a week after he was stabbed while trying to protect Mia. Photo / Facebook

Arriving in Sydney from the UK, Rosie told news.com.au she could "feel Mia everywhere" and was ready to retrace her steps up the east coast through Byron Bay, the Gold Coast, Townsville and Home Hill, with an ABC TV crew. But when news.com.au met with Rosie for a second time at the end of her marathon journey, she was drained.

"I feel wiped out, exhausted, wrung out," she said. "You have to go over everything, it's raked over coals in enough detail you break down. It has been hard."

In the past year, having a purpose has kept her sane, and got her through the most soul-crushing moments. She has been busy encouraging young people to come forward, trying to increase transparency around the conditions at different farms and working hostels on forums and Facebook groups, talking to the Fair Work Commission and petitioning the Australian Government.

Many backpackers are not keen to lodge formal complaints, because they want to get their visas and leave with no trouble. That means the collective memory of backpackers is short, so the cycle continues. But Rosie warns "they may take with them lifelong scars" - or worse.

"My aim is making it safe for kids," she said. "People trust me, I'm independent, not on a salary, I'm doing this because of Mia's death. I'm not going to deport anyone, I'm just there for them. I'm not interested in anyone blaming.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Mia was allegedly murdered at the hostel by French Algerian traveller Smail Ayad, who reportedly had an obsessive crush on her.
Mia was allegedly murdered at the hostel by French Algerian traveller Smail Ayad, who reportedly had an obsessive crush on her.

"The whole campaign is coming from right place, heartache because Mia and Tom died.

"I have to relive it all the time. At least I'm slowly come to terms with it through reliving it. I owe her that. I had to make my journey here as a mum. I can't bury it, can't bring her back.

"Maybe because of this campaign, 10 girls a year won't be sexually assaulted. Maybe two people who would have used machinery without training won't be put to work.

"I'm getting stories, passing them on. But I'm one person. I'm starting to flounder a bit. It's taking too much of a toll."

Rosie said she is tired of hearing the horror stories, seeing the lack of action, and having people tell her the farms are hard to regulate because they are so remote. "Then why are you sending kids there?" she asks.

She believes the system may slowly start to improve with the help of some "extraordinary" people, but she wants it to happen faster, so no one else has to suffer. Recently, one backpacker shared a story of sexual assault only to see her attacker receive community service in court, and Rosie was hugely disappointed.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Australia wants change," said Rosie. "I'm really just adding my voice to the growing clamour."

- news.com.au

Save

    Share this article

Latest from World

World

'Grateful': Rescued German backpacker details Australian bush ordeal, miraculous survival

World

Cambodia to implement military conscription amid Thailand tensions

World

Trump says US will send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from World

'Grateful': Rescued German backpacker details Australian bush ordeal, miraculous survival
World

'Grateful': Rescued German backpacker details Australian bush ordeal, miraculous survival

Carolina Wilga survived 12 days in a confused state in remote bushland after a crash.

14 Jul 08:44 AM
Cambodia to implement military conscription amid Thailand tensions
World

Cambodia to implement military conscription amid Thailand tensions

14 Jul 07:05 AM
Trump says US will send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine
World

Trump says US will send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine

14 Jul 04:56 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP