Continuing , condensed biography of Crusading Editor," Big Jim " Bowditch by Peter Simon
Life
took yet another change of direction for Bowditch when he was engaged as a reporter on the ABC
Darwin television current
affairs program ,Territory Tracks. He was hired by reporter
Matt Peacock who later
became an ABC correspondent in Canberra ,
New York and London, now back in Australia. Peacock said
he employed Bowditch
because he felt viewers would appreciate an openly opinionated and
knowledgeable editorialist who could
put things in an historical
context. In this show Bowditch
usually appeared side
on typing and
then turned to camera and commenced
speaking . The feedback on
Bowditch’s television appearances had been good
.
Bowditch became
concerned about the Azaria
Chamberlain case and expressed the view
that Lindy Chamberlain was
not guilty. The
lawyer Phil Rice, with whom Bowditch had been associated
in Alice back in the l950s,
represented the Chamberlains at the
Alice Springs inquest . On that occasion ,
coroner Denis Barritt , SM ,found that
Azaria had been taken by a dingo ,
but that there had been human
involvement in the disposal of the body
. Rice’s involvement in the case
resulted in him being called
Rumpole of the Rock .
Bowditch
used the Territory Tracks program
to air his views on the
Chamberlain case . He also wrote
about the Chamberlain case in the free
weekly Darwin Advertiser and The Star calling for an inquiry. During this period he often discussed the case with ALP Senator Bob Collins who
campaigned to have the Chamberlains cleared. Collins made scathing comments , reported previously in this blog , about the so called forensic evidence presented against the Chamberlains .
Of
the host of theories advanced for
what many regarded
as a scorched earth approach
to the Chamberlains , two were
the belief that the NT
Government was fearful of being
sued for not having acted on warnings that camp dogs were becoming a menace
at Uluru and the fear that the
tourist trade would take a dive if it
were shown that a dingo had taken the
child. Evidence was given that the head ranger at Uluru, Derek Roff, had been writing to his superiors in Darwin
for two years warning
of pending tragedy
due to the possibility that “
camp dogs” , including dingoes , might
attack tourists, particularly children .
This situation was developing , he warned , because people were feeding the animals despite
being told not to do so .
 |
ABC screengrab the day Chamberlains finally exonerated .
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Other issues
which Bowditch covered in Territory Tracks included
ALP disunity, tropical leave for
public servants , the influence of Colonel Lionel Rose on the Territory's animal industry , the
impact of missionaries on Aborigines
and the
Great White Hunter’s contribution to Territory tourism . NEXT : Letter to Chrissie Paspalis .
