Thursday, May 29, 2014

DARWIN AND AUSTRALIA BETRAYED -Continuing biog of Crusading Editor,"Big Jim " Bowditch

 
There was  a  shocking  epilogue  to  the  Stayput  Portuguese  story .   Seven   years   after  being  allowed to stay in Australia , one of  the  three who sought  asylum , Jose da  Costa , murdered   his Greek   employer,  Andreas  Koklas  ,  while  they  were  making a  holiday   trip  around Australia. He  drove off  in  the   man’s car ;  from  the  victim's   bank  book    he   attempted   to  draw a  large amount  of  money  to  flee  the  country .   At  Tennant Creek  he  had  tried  to sell  a  camera  belonging to Koklas to a policeman . He  was  arrested   and   brought  back  to  Darwin  for  a  jury    trial .

Bowditch  went  to  Julio  Borges , who had first enlisted his help to keep the three in the country,  and  expressed  his  deep dismay  at  what  da  Costa  had  done,  saying  he had  let  down  the   people  of   Darwin  and  Australia.  The  other  two  Portuguese  stayputs   were    shattered  by  the  enormity  of   what  da  Costa  had  done.  In  an  expression  of  regret,  da Costa  was  reportedly   “ upset ” for  what  he  had  done  to  Jim  Bowditch .

The court   was  filled  with  angry members of the   Greek community   who  wanted  da Costa  hanged.  Judge  Blackburn   passed  the  death  sentence .  Personally  distressed  by  the  case , Bowditch  nevertheless  campaigned  to  save  da  Costa  from  hanging  and  the  abolition  of   capital  punishment   in  the  NT. Da  Costa  did  not hang  and  capital  punishment   was  eventually  abolished.
 
Recalling  the   Stayput  Portuguese  saga , Julio  Borges , in  l982 , still   expressing   dismay at  what  da Costa  had  done , letting  down  so  many  people , said  the then   Darwin  Portuguese  population  of  about  500    regarded  Bowditch as “ a  great  man ”.   Members  of   this  segment   of   the  Darwin community   still   went  to  Bowditch   for  help  with  problems, even  though  he  was  no longer  editor  of   the  NT News .
 
In 2004 ,  stayput  Norberto Andrade  , in a telephone interview ,  still marvelled  at the way   Bowditch  , lawyer Dick Ward ,  unionists   and  so  many other  people  in  the community  had   rallied to  help  the trio. In particular, he singled out  Bowditch   for    high praise. “ I will never forget  him until  I  die.”

When  asked  what  happened  to  da  Costa , who had  been saved from hanging  ,  in  part    due  to  Bowditch’s  campaigning , Andrade   had  this  to  say  : “ I heard  that  he  was released from  jail in  Adelaide  and  became ill.  When  told  that he was   suffering from  cancer, he went  home  and   killed   himself .” NEXT: Another  international story