When the wild , colourful and grand history of the Australian Labor Party in the Northern Territory is written the part played by John Waters ,Q.C., will be extensive.
In this blast from the past , inspiring Gough Whitlam addresses a packed meeting in Darwin's Greek Hall . Those on stage included another ALP stalwart , former Territory MHR , Jock Nelson , centre , back to camera ,who resigned in protest as the NT Administrator following Whitlam's dismissal by Sir John Kerr.
Jock's father , Harold , a union activist who became the first Territory MHR , played a leading part in the "Darwin Rebellion " which saw the unpopular Administrator, Dr Gilruth , leave town on a gunboat .
To the right of Nelson in the photo is a slight glimpse of boyish John Waters, a "true believer" , life member of the ALP, NT . In the media contingent can be seen British photo journalist , the late Penny Tweedie , camera at the ready , a bandanna in her hair .
By Peter Simon
John Waters has died . News of the not unexpected event came to me from various sources . First , Melbourne journalist author Kim Lockwood , who was in Darwin attending a Military Writers Festival and had gone to school with Waters in Darwin , emailed .
Then Kerry Byrnes , of Arnhem Nursery , Humpty Doo , rang to say John had died in hospital , aged 74. When Kerry and his wife Sandra ran the independent newspaper , the Darwin Star , which gave the Murdoch owned Northern Territory News a strong challenge , Waters had been their legal advisor , handling letters threatening defamation action and so forth .
An email arrived from agronomist and longtime activist Rob Wesley-Smith , who had been represented by Waters when he and others were arrested at gunpoint in Darwin Harbour while trying to take supplies and medicine to East Timor during the Indonesian invasion.
On a visit back to Darwin , Wesley-Smith had alerted me to the fact that Waters had in 2016 written the above book , with a legal title , being Shaky Recollections from an Unknown Territorian , with much content that would interest me , so I immediately bought a copy .
Over the years , I had thought that Waters could write a great book about the ALP , leading Labor figures such as Don Dunstan to Bob Hawke , Kep Enderby , Lionel Murphy , Clem Jones , the many interesting cases he had been involved in , Territory characters , the massive contribution to the Territory by his father , Ken Waters , a former schoolteacher, real estate agent , part founder of the Frances Creek iron ore mine , onetime Member for Arnhem in the NT Legislative Council , a former Darwin mayor .
One of the people John Waters defended in court was James Frederick Bowditch , known as " Big Jim ", crusading editor of the Northern Territory News , another ALP warrior , who once stood for the Darwin seat of Fannie Bay . Waters extensively outlined the life of Bowditch and told how he had defended him in court on drink driving charges until he finally spent time in Gunn Point prison farm .
Bowditch served in Tobruk, New Guinea and in Z Special Force , receiving the DCM and an American medal . From time to time, this blog feels compelled to explain that his behaviour was in part due to his wartime experiences , especially him being haunted by mutilating the body of a young looking enemy guard to make it appear his death was due to a native , not a member of a daring two-man pre - invasion Allied reconnaissance team , which had paddled ashore on Tarakan .
When Bowditch died in 1996 , John Waters said he had made an indelible impression upon the life of the Territory for more than 30 years. The Territory's record of racial tolerance during the period from the l950s to the early 1970s had been due to one man- remarkable Jim Bowditch , who would be remembered for producing a sparkling and exciting paper .
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I contacted Waters when researching the life of Bowditch and later , in his office , also discussed another talented , controversial Territory person , from a difficult background , with a record of violence , who was shot dead in his bed . Waters mentioned him in the book .
My final contact with John Waters was under extremely sad circumstance in Darwin during the last Christmas -New Year period , at the long established Friday Club , in the Noodle House . I had been alerted in advance that John was very ill , could hardly put a sentence together , was suffering from Parkinson's -was that why he described his book as being "shaky" recollections? - cancer, a heart condition and something else.
A tragically frail apparition , he shuffled, no inched in to the Friday Club , left arm frozen in a horizon position level with his face , and sat down . Not knowing what the response would be , I moved over and sat next to him , introduced myself as Peter Simon , who had worked with Jim Bowditch and Jon Isaacs (a former Leader of the ALP Opposition in the NT ). He responded by softly saying hello ... "Did you get my book ? " This unexpected reply threw me, as the saying goes . He had obviously remembered me and my obsession with books.
We continued to have a disjointed conversation during the meal in which he confirmed that Pam O'Neill , a capable former NT Legislative Council (ALP ) member was living in Canberra with her husband , Alan , a partner in the former Darwin law firm of Waters , James and O'Neill .
I lamented the tragic death of great ALP supporter , American journalist and author , Barbara James . John nodded. Holding my arm , slowly, ever so slowly , after I cleaned food from his shirt and glasses, he made his way from the Noodle House to a waiting car . Goodbye John .
Several journalists over the years said they thought John Waters aspired to be a reporter , at times highly critical of the media and individual reporters . Journalist Christine Pas , back in Darwin from Vietnam , who runs the Southeast Asian Times online , recently said John had contributed many items to a lively , well read column , Pandanus , in the Darwin Sun newspaper .
Born in South Australia, John attended Pultney Grammar School , Adelaide, and moved to the Territory in 1953 with his parents when his father was appointed to teach in Darwin . His father became the founder and first chairman for various organisations including the NT Museum and Art Gallery , Automobile Association NT , founding chairman of the Darwin Community College , now Charles Darwin University .
My copy of John's book had been wrongly collated , some pages and photographs repeated , on reflection, representing his parlous, mixed up medical state in the Noodle House.
