Pioneering nudist and political journalist, Dick Muddimer , 82, seen above with his pet dog ,Nemo, in this 2003 painting by Albert Koomen, has died of a heart attack in Darwin Hospital . Dick was deeply involved in moves , including protest marches , which led to the establishment of the free beach. It was often emphatically stated that media proprietor Rupert Murdoch had to get permission from the Darwin Sun Club to use the name Darwin Sun in a free newspaper , launched to stifle competition . Muddimer denied this on several occasions, the latest a few months ago when talking to me - but we musn't let the facts spoil what sounds like a good yarn. Dick worked at the ABC and the NT News . Apart from the above painting , done as part of the distinguished NT Senior Citizens series , former ABC journalist Bill Fletcher has a photograph of Dick asleep at his typewriter. While covering parliament in the old Legislative Assembly building , Dick could often be seen up in the Press gallery, slumped forward , having a quick kip, revealing a Friar Tuck circlet of hair . A nextdoor neighbour of the Paulings, he liked strolling about the yard au natural , soaking up the sun , at times frightening people who go from door to door handing our religious tracts , meter readers and other intruders upon his castle. Richard Graham Muddimer 's birth was recorded at Hendon, Oxfordshire, in 1929. One of his prized possessions from his early days in Britain was his mother's large dinner gong. Well read, Dick recently showed me through his dusty book collection which included a considerable number about British politicians ... Peter Simon
