A few shirt buttons open, News reporter Jim Kelly, in the Buffalo Club, shows how hot it can be in the Wet . Photo from reporter Keith Willey's book, Eaters of the Lotus, Jacaranda Press, 1964.
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The rehashed and trite article about crusading editor Jim Bowditch in the NT News special 60th anniversary feature contained extraordinary claims , none more ridiculous than that Bowditch wore thongs in the newspaper . I had the wonderful experience of working with Jim from 1958-1962, followed by a further close relationship from 1972-82 . Never once did I see him in thongs. Jim Bowditch wore a short sleeve shirt , shorts, shoes and long socks , as did most people in Darwin. Being an Englishman, sandals also interested him, rarely worn in the office.
As for him sitting shirtless at the desk with sweat running down his front, it is obvious that the News got the wrong Jim. There was a rotund sporting journalist , Jim Kelly , above, who used to sit next to me , often sans shirt, sipping a cold libation, puffing on a Temple Bar , in the sweaty NT News reporters’ room at the tin bank premises, Smith Street. Kelly had a nickname ,Flannel Foot, because of shuffling gait, but he never wore thongs. His footwear was more like black dancing pumps.
Saying Bowditch was an eccentric, likely to throw a “hissy fit,”I found offensive . Due to his war experiences , one being his deliberate mutilation of an enemy soldier to hide a pending invasion ( details soon to be posted in the Little Darwin ongoing Bowditch biography ) , which played on his mind, for which service he received bravery medals , one from the US, a doctor said that Bowditch , in effect, self medicated on alcohol , pot, eventually pills , the latter making him aggressive and irascible. Calling this a hissy fit , is thoughtless , trendy jargon- ideal for those catering for the limited mentality of a certain demographic, but it should not have been used to demean the memory of a great crusading editor.
Saying Bowditch was an eccentric, likely to throw a “hissy fit,”I found offensive . Due to his war experiences , one being his deliberate mutilation of an enemy soldier to hide a pending invasion ( details soon to be posted in the Little Darwin ongoing Bowditch biography ) , which played on his mind, for which service he received bravery medals , one from the US, a doctor said that Bowditch , in effect, self medicated on alcohol , pot, eventually pills , the latter making him aggressive and irascible. Calling this a hissy fit , is thoughtless , trendy jargon- ideal for those catering for the limited mentality of a certain demographic, but it should not have been used to demean the memory of a great crusading editor.
The suggestion that reporters climbed under their desks to escape having a wrestle with Bowditch is hard to believe. Having wrapped my hands around the editor’s windpipe after a boozy night at the open air boxing on Darwin Oval , I find it hilarious that later wimpy journalists allegedly took fright and hid beneath desks.
In his cups, Bowditch threatened to kill , with a few blows, many journos and others. The point is that he never used his commando tactics to kill when it came to a scuffle and , being slight, he often received a thumping , none from his staff , as far as I know.
Rehashing an anecdote about Bowditch supposedly threatening to sack journalist Errol Simper after describing a kitten as a gorgeous , furry little creature instead of a “fucking” cat is surely open to interpretation. Bowditch had to be jesting if he made such a statement .
Another longtime NT News reporter firmly told me about a lost cat story, probably the same feline as above, in the paper which clearly showed that while Bowditch might forthrightly tear strips off people verbally and in editorials , he could be incredibly soft as well . If the News had chosen to contact the Bowditch family in Darwin I am sure they would have corrected the errors about his footwear , his wardrobe and the suggestion that he exposed his manly chest to the world while pounding away with three fingers on the typewriter . They may have also mentioned the fact that Jim was blown out of the house with the pet cat during Cyclone Tracy .
In his cups, Bowditch threatened to kill , with a few blows, many journos and others. The point is that he never used his commando tactics to kill when it came to a scuffle and , being slight, he often received a thumping , none from his staff , as far as I know.
Rehashing an anecdote about Bowditch supposedly threatening to sack journalist Errol Simper after describing a kitten as a gorgeous , furry little creature instead of a “fucking” cat is surely open to interpretation. Bowditch had to be jesting if he made such a statement .
Another longtime NT News reporter firmly told me about a lost cat story, probably the same feline as above, in the paper which clearly showed that while Bowditch might forthrightly tear strips off people verbally and in editorials , he could be incredibly soft as well . If the News had chosen to contact the Bowditch family in Darwin I am sure they would have corrected the errors about his footwear , his wardrobe and the suggestion that he exposed his manly chest to the world while pounding away with three fingers on the typewriter . They may have also mentioned the fact that Jim was blown out of the house with the pet cat during Cyclone Tracy .
Overall, the special feature in the News look back at 60 years left a lot to be desired. The erroneous statements about Big Jim Bowditch could not be left unchallenged . There are a lot of knowledgeable cats in Darwin, Canberra , Sydney , New Zealand,New York and elsewhere who could have supplied the paper with interesting, fresh copy about the paper and other earlier editors and reporters not mentioned *
