In an opening address to the court, Senior Counsel Ian Bourke said that all the evidence so far pointed to Ms Pajuczok having met with “foul play” on or around December 23 or 24, 2008.

Mr Bourke said the evidence did not support the theory that Ms Pajuczok had committed suicide or had simply “wandered off”.

Three witnesses - including Chris Murdoch and Barbara Fox from the Bombala district and Adele Cameron from Towamba - gave evidence on the first day.

This is the first time the inquest has sat outside Sydney.

Mr Bourke said more than 200 witness statements had been taken and extensive physical searches of the Rockton area - by foot, on horses and trail bikes, from helicopters, and with tracker dogs - had failed to find any trace of her.

He said Department of Immigration records, bank accounts and a $100,000 reward had also drawn blanks.

Two former boyfriends of Ms Pajuczok - who had been married and divorced twice and was living off a disability support pension - had been interviewed but had been largely eliminated from suspicion, he said.

The court was told that Ms Pajuczok was staying between two properties, owned by her brother, Igor Pajuczok, and James ‘Jim’ Hawes at Rockton, near, Bombala, when she disappeared.

Earlier in December 2008 Ms Pajuczok had phoned her brother, asking to spend Christmas with him because she was frightened someone in Eden was after her.

But Mr [Igor] Pajuczok was planning to spend Christmas in Melbourne, so suggested she stay with Mr Hawes.

The first person to give evidence on Monday Ms Cameron who had been in a romantic relationship with Mr Hawes around 2009-2010.

Ms Cameron recalled being at Mr Hawes’ place one night for dinner when Mr Murdoch showed up.

She said Mr Murdoch had had a few drinks and during “chit chat” at the kitchen table mentioned that Mr Hawes had been the last person to see Ms Pajuczok [alive] on Christmas Eve, 2008.

The dinner had taken place near the anniversary of Ms Pajuczok’s disappearance, she said.

Ms Cameron said Mr Murdoch wasn’t in a very good mood and it “wasn’t nice” the way he had brought it up.

“Jim didn’t look very happy about it,” she said, adding that she could tell by the look on his face.

When she later asked Mr Hawes what Mr Murdoch had been talking about he admitted to her that Ms Pajuczok had been at his place on Christmas Eve, that the pair had had a row, and he told her to leave.

Mr Hawes told her the police were out to get him, she said.

In evidence, Mr Murdoch conceded that he may have said something along the lines of “look under the bed for an axe” to Ms Cameron in order to “stir” Mr Hawes the night of the dinner.

He said that his partner, Barbara Fox, was in hospital in Canberra during December 2008 and early January 2009.

Mr Murdoch said he visited Ms Fox in hospital on December 24 because it was her birthday.

He said he was at home on December 23 and had phoned Ms Fox at 9.54pm.

When questioned as to why he was able to be so precise about the time of the phone call, Mr Murdoch said he had checked his phone records with Telstra “a week or so back”.

Mr Bourke asked him if he had wanted to have an “alibi”.

He said he was “just interested” in where he was.

Ms Fox also gave evidence; she said that she and another woman had played matchmakers between Mr Hawes and Ms Cameron as she knew Ms Cameron was seeking a relationship.

The inquest was adjourned on Monday afternoon to allow Magistrate Douglass to visit some sites of interest in the Rockton area.