Charmaine Dragun

Charmaine Dragun
Charmaine Dragun on vacation in Croatia
Born	Charmaine Dragun 21 March 1978(1978-03-21) Perth, Western Australia
Died	2 November 2007(2007-11-02) (aged 29) Sydney, New South Wales[1]
Occupation	Journalist, news presenter
Family	Estelle Dragun (Mother) Michael Dragun (Father) Matthew Dragun (Brother)
Spouse(s)	Simon Struthers (De facto)
Ethnicity	Croatian
Religious belief(s)	Roman Catholic

Charmaine Dragun (pronounced /ˈdræɡuːn/) (21 March 1978 – 2 November 2007) was an Australian broadcast journalist and presenter. She was, with Tim Webster, the regular presenter of Ten News Perth's 5pm bulletin, which was broadcast at the time from the TEN-10 Sydney studios at Pyrmont. Dragun had also filled in on Ten's national Morning News & Weekend News bulletins and presented Ten Late News on Fridays.

After graduating from Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, she had a distinguished career in radio journalism before joining Ten as a reporter and, subsequently, an presenter. She suffered from depression and anorexia from the age of 18 and committed suicide on Friday 2 November 2007.

Career

Dragun, a graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts,^[2][3][4] began her career as a radio journalist, working in the newsrooms at Perth's 6PR^[2][3] and 96FM stations.^[2][3] Her efforts earned her nomination for Young Journalist Of The Year^[2] and won the Best radio reports.^[2] After moving to Ten, she turned to court reporting^[2] and filled in as Ten News presenter over the summers of 2003 and 2004 before being appointed permanent news presenter for Perth's Ten News at Five (presented at the time from Sydney) from 4 July 2005.^[3][5] Dragun's fellow presenter, veteran broadcaster Tim Webster described her as "one of the most professional I’ve ever seen, very meticulous, [...] if she made a mistake she was distraught about it."^[1]

Personal life

Dragun was engaged to Simon Struthers (forensic pathologist^[6] with NSW police, bass guitarist for Adam Said Galore and photographer^[7]), with the pair planning to marry at their joint 30th birthday celebrations.^[1][4][6]

Depression and anorexia

Dragun's mother stated that Charmaine had struggled with Anorexia shortly after her 18th birthday^[8] after lewd comments about her figure were made by workers at a construction site,^[1][3] followed by a drop in weight from 52 kg to 39 kg (115 lbs to 86 lbs).^[1][3] Dragun saw a psychologist who recommended a course of antidepressants.^[1][3] Eight months before leaving for Sydney, Dragun told her mother that the drugs "numb[ed] her feelings and was not really working for her."^[1] Dragun sought out a Perth doctor who took her off the antidepressants.^[1][3] Although initially successful, within six weeks, Dragun’s parents had realised there was a problem.^[1]

In mid September,^[4][9] three weeks before her death,^[10] Dragun again changed her medication.^[4][9] Dragun called her mother and spoke with her and Struthers and whilst speaking with her mother said "Mum, for the first time I have thought about suicide."^[1] Dragun had previously told Sarah Bamford (a friend and colleague) that it was something "she would never, ever do."^[1][3]

Suicide

“	Dear Simon, you are not going to like what I am going to do but you deserve better. I don't want to be a burden	”
—Charmaine Dragun’s final words, sent via SMS to her fiancé Simon Struthers.[3]

Shortly before 4:00 pm on Friday 2 November 2007, Dragun committed suicide^[1][6] by jumping from The Gap in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs.^[1] Earlier, in the morning, Dragun dropped her car off for a service and took the bus home.^[1][3] Dragun was due to present the 5 pm news for Perth and Ten Late News on the day she died,^[6] but instead drove past the network's Pyrmont studios and continued on to the Gap.^[3][6] For approximately two hours^[1][3] Dragun sat at Jacob’s Ladder, an action she had taken before;^[3] she then sent a text message to Struthers.^[1][3][6] Network Ten staff in Perth and Sydney were only informed of her death 15 minutes before the 5pm programme was due to air.^[3][6]

A funeral was held 10 days later at All Saints Church in Greenwood, Western Australia.^[4]

Inquest

During 2010, an official inquest into the medical support surrounding Dragun at the time of her death was held by the Coroner's Court of New South Wales in the Glebe suburb of Sydney.^[11] The Deputy State Coroner, Malcolm McPherson, ruled that Dragun's suicide could have been prevented if doctors had correctly diagnosed a bipolar II disorder and administered the right treatment. His findings also noted that the ease of access to the cliff edge at the Gap had been a causal factor.^[12]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} "Friday's Child". Caroline Jones (Presenter). Australian Story. ABC Television. 2008-04-28. No. 12, season 2008. Transcript.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} "Charmaine Dragun's Sydney Life". The Daily Telegraph. 3 November 2007. http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/charmaine-draguns-sydney-life/story-e6freuy9-1111114792035. Retrieved 2009-12-20. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p} Taylor, Paige (28 April 2008). "Too great a burden". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/too-great-a-burden/story-e6frg6z6-1111116178599. Retrieved 2009-11-05. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Hundreds pay tribute to Charmaine". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 November 2007. http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/hundreds-pay-tribute-to-charmaine/2007/11/12/1194766577942.html. Retrieved 2009-11-06. 
5. ^ "3966 Scarlett B News Final" (PDF). Edith Cowan University. 2005-11. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070829040836/http://www.waapa.ecu.edu.au/tmp/scarletbillowsnov05+.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-05. 
6. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} "Fiance’s tribute to Charmaine Dragun". The Sunday Times. 5 November 2007. http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22693062-2761,00.html. Retrieved 2009-11-05. ^{[dead link]}
7. ^ Dragun, Charmaine (3 November 2007). "Charmaine Dragun discovers her heritage in Croatia". The Sunday Times. http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,22695978-2761,00.html. Retrieved 2009-11-05. 
8. ^ "Speech by Estelle Dragun at the launch of Navigating Teenage Depression: A guide for parents and professionals". Black Dog Institute. http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/docs/EstelleDragunspeech.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Charmaine Dragun's mum launches Navigating teenage depression". ABC News. 9 March 2010. http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,26151219-2761,00.html. Retrieved 2010-03-09. 
10. ^ "'Perfectionist' newsreader had eating disorder, inquest told". news.com.au. 1 October 2009. http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/09/2840639.htm?section=justin. Retrieved 2009-11-22. 
11. ^ Upcoming Inquests, Coroner's Court, Lawlink NSW, accessed: 6 March 2010
12. ^ "Gap suicide preventable". Wentworth Courier. 20 October 2010. http://wentworth-courier.whereilive.com.au/news/story/gap-suicide-preventable/. Retrieved 2010-10-25. 

See also

• beyondblue
• Lifeline (counselling service)
• Major Depressive Disorder

Preceded by Celina Edmonds	Ten News at Five Perth Presenter with Tim Webster 2005 - 2007	Succeeded by Narelda Jacobs
Preceded by unknown	Ten Late News Friday Edition Presenter 2006 - 2007	Succeeded by Kathryn Robinson

Persondata
Name	Dragun, Charmaine
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1978-03-21
Place of birth	Perth, Western Australia
Date of death	2007-11-02
Place of death	Sydney, New South Wales