A MAD ROYAL EVENING



Continuing biography of  Crusading Editor,"Big Jim" Bowditch  by Peter Simon

 

From left, holding News , is  linotype operator Arthur Wright , a walking encyclopedia  on early  Darwin union  characters and events ; Bowditch  wielding  knife ; man  with moustache , Sports Editor  Dennis Booth ; photographer  Joe  Karlhuber, with  cigarette ; Social writer Joy Collins next to him ; Pat Wright, with  umbrella , Arthur's  wife, who went through a  safety check  routine  before operating   the guillotine   in the  old building  to cut  paper for  Bowditch,  telling him to  put  his  hands in a safe place - on her bum ; behind  her, the pate of  English journalist,  nudist , Dick Muddimer   and  reporter  Rex Clark , far right .  

 

 

Early  in  l979 there was  a party to celebrate the  25th birthday of the Northern Territory  News  and a  group of people ,including Bowditch, gathered on  the site of the  original old   Tin Bank  premises .  Bowditch cut a “cake ” made out of  a  beer can  slab  with candles on top . The party continued in the  Victoria Hotel  where  Bowditch managed to smash a glass topped  table  by   pounding it  with his  fist .  Police were called .

 

During  that year  Jim’s old  friend from  the  Centralian  Advocate days in Alice  Springs ,  Alan Wauchope , came to Darwin  and  Bowditch  went  missing   from his  government job.  Wauchope  telephoned  me  and said  Jim would  be late for work    in  Information and  Public Relations  as  he  was  drinking with him  in a pub .   Alarming  was  Wauchope’s  statement   that  also imbibing with  them was a man  known as  the Freckled  Fool.  Now  the   Freckled Fool ,   said to be a journalist  ,  but  hardly   able to  put a coherent  sentence   together ,  had  arrived   out  of  a  test tube somewhere  like  Mount  Isa ; his strange behaviour   made  him  a legend  in an  exceedingly short space of  time .  

 

 

Some shook their heads  and   said he was from  another planet.   But not  Bowditch, who  liked to help  lame dogs.  Wauchope was  advised that he was in dangerous company and should  immediately  leap  into his car and drive  back  to  the safety  of  Alice.

 

Bowditch turned up for work  the following morning  in  fragile  condition - white and   nervy -  in no shape to  put his noble  nose to the grindstone.  His condition  was part  due to the fact  that he had been trying to  straighten  out  the Freckled  Fool,  but the strain  had been too  much .

 

Soon after,  Bowditch  and I  , Frank  Martin , an ex- boxer who ran an Aboriginal hostel ,  journalist  John Loizou  and his  partner,  Cri  Pas,  an attractive   women  , who  ran  a  restaurant  in Darwin , went to a  popular  nightspot.  It would prove to be a memorable   evening .  The place  was  jam-packed, noisy , smoky.  One of the proprietors, known as the  Queen  Mother , went   berserk when  he spotted  Cri , who  sat at the  bar  elegantly  puffing  a cigarette , using a cigarette holder.

 

She  had clashed  with the man   over  something some days   previously.  The man literally screamed  and  ordered her out.  At one stage, Bowditch,   fist raised,  moved  in  on the  agitated  Queen Mother,  wanting to defend  Cri.  Martin  grabbed  Jim and hauled him away .   While the uproar was  taking place, the  Freckled Fool lurched into  view with  about six  Singaporean  military  sailors  who were  off a ship in port .  Some  of the  sailors  carried Playboy  magazines which they could not buy  in straight-laced   Singapore and  ogled the centre-spreads of  naked women . By now  the  proprietor, being held back by  his partner,  was beside  himself with  rage .  When  somebody asked  Cri what was  wrong  with the  man , she replied:  “ He  wants to be a  girl, but he   hasn’t  got enough  parts.” The  police arrived  and the party was asked to  leave .  Bowditch tried to argue with  the police but  Martin , wisely , ordered Jim to shut up  and  sit  down.

 

Outside, arguing continued with the police ; the party moved  to a place called the Pianola Palace  where they  met  some  journalists   from the  ABC.  Bowditch disappeared  with the  Freckled Fool .  Martin began waving his  finger at  Loizou and Cri .  He was annoyed  over what had happened at the  other place. Loizou looked  very concerned - who wouldn’t be, knowing  Martin’s  capacity for violence.   Martin  was angry  over the fact that   Loizou and Cri,  aware of the  previous trouble   with the  proprietor ,  had returned   knowing that there would  almost certainly be another  confrontation .  Martin   said  he and   Jim could easily have been  involved in a brawl  and  sent back to gaol. To ease the tense   situation, I urged  Martin to leave with me  and  drove  to Frank’s place  where  we  drank a  few cans .   Frank   had  simmered down  and  the  conversation  which followed  showed that this complex  person  was  intelligent  and  a  thinker.

 

Soon after this event ,  I  was seconded   to work   as  Press Secretary to the   NT  Leader of the ALP  Opposition , Jon Isaacs.   One  night   I received   a  call at home from Martin   who said  there were two Commonwealth policeman  on  the premises  at the hostel .  He wanted  me to  speak to  the officers , who were standing next to him.   The reason for the   call was unclear, but Martin  did mention  that “ some dude” had  said or done something which upset him .  He wanted  me  to tell the police that  I   knew  him  ( Martin ) .  In the brief   conversation which  followed , one  officer merely explained that he was  looking into a matter  and  discussing  it  with  Mr Martin. 

  

After  experiencing  years of  violence , Martin’s  wife   shot  him dead .   At  her  trial , Bowditch gave evidence in her defence and told how he had been beaten up by  her  husband, who had  chased him about a garden one night  with  a  rifle   threatening to kill him .   Jim  had  sustained  broken  ribs  when  beaten   by  the  butt of  the rifle  and said  his  wartime experiences  fighting  Japanese  had  saved  his  life .  

 

Bowditch  subsequently stated that  of  all the people  Martin had  savagely  beaten  in  his life ,  his  wife had   been the only  one  with guts  enough  to  stop  his  brutality . In recent years, a retired police officer, now   dead , told  me  that  Martin's wife had practically been beaten every  night, and  it  made  him  feel  sick    thinking   about  what she had endured.  NEXT : The Chamberlain case and other  major  events.