Still uncertain about the future, his life seemingly a mess, Bowditch returned to Alice after the short stay in Adelaide where he had been watched by ASIO. Then it was announced he would be resigning as paymaster at Works and Housing to become the full-time editor of the Centralian Advocate newspaper.
While Bowditch's life was in a state of turmoil an important newspaper event took place in Darwin on February 8, 1952 with the publication of the first edition of the Northern Territory News, above , from Little Darwin Media Collection . Tucked away in that paper, on P2 , in a round up of Territory news , it reported that in Alice Springs Mr Ted Millgate had succeeded Mr J. Bowditch as secretary of the Federated Clerks’ Union , a post he had held for three years. Who would have thought that in a short space of time Bowditch would be running the NT News and become a famous crusading editor.
By Peter Simon
The manager of the Centralian Advocate, Ron Morcom , had asked Bowditch to take over the editorial reins ; Bowditch had helped out during l951 when editor Alan Wauchope became ill .As an indication of the fairly free and easy conditions in Alice, Bowditch wrote the copy for the first few issues of the newspaper under his editorship from his desk in the paymaster’s office in Works and Housing . All the copy was labouriously written in longhand , then passed in a bundle to the linotype operator . Because he had so much copy to write, he developed a three-finger typing action , which increased in speed .
Working long hours each day, Bowditch wrote everything for the paper , even the social notes which were mainly compiled from a weekend visit to the social hub , the Memorial Club. His social notes appeared in columns headed Seen At The Club and Club Hub-Bub . He denied having ever written a column in the paper which was called A Cup of Tea and a Chat , by “Sue”.
The newspaper office had been rebuilt after a mysterious fire in l950 but was still a primitive building . A taxi driver with a news sense brought people of interest to see Bowditch at the newspaper. These visitors were surprised at the dingy premises , especially the pokey office in which Jim worked.
ASIO WATCHES EDITOR
ASIO continued to report his activities. On May 23, l952 , the SA regional director notified Canberra headquarters and Darwin that Bowditch had expressed the intention to stand as a “ Communist candidate” at the next federal elections. He went on to say that Bowditch was currently building up an association with the half-caste population in and around Alice Springs . This acivity, he said, may represent the foundation of a long range plan in connection with his political ambitions. On June 17 a field officer in Victoria , repeating the claim that Bowditch had intended joining Thornton in China, forwarded further conjecture about Bowditch’s likely political moves .
Bowditch , he said, was on friendly terms with and had campaigned for Jock Nelson, MHR and Frank Johnson, the Alice Springs member in the NT Legislative Council. Nelson had suggested to Bowditch that he should become his successor . Bowditch,the field officer wrote, could obtain Labor endorsement with the aid of his friend Frank Whitewood, secretary of the Alice Springs branch of the ALP . According to the report , Bowditch was “ apparently” still a member of the ALP .
CONFUSING ACCOUNTS ABOUT VIPS
Recalling those hectic days running the Alice paper , Bowditch described in great detail an event in which Colonel Lionel Rose, the NT’s chief veterinary officer, who resided in The Residency , invited him to come and meet the British writer , commentator and Punch magazine editor, Malcolm Muggeridge .
It seems certain that Bowditch got Malcolm Muggeridge mixed up with the British philosopher,Lord Bertrand Russell, who visited Alice in l950. Bowditch’s account of the dubious Muggeridge episode went as follows : Straight talking as ever, Rose supposedly told Bowditch that he ( Jim ) , being “ a bit of a Commo, ” would probably enjoy Muggeridge. Muggeridge, he told Jim , was a bit that way inclined and liked airing his views. In fact, Muggeridge was inclined to the right and had been a wartime British spy.
Bowditch arrived at The Residency and began talking to Muggeridge . Rose , who had been drinking, shuffled in , grunted and studiously avoided them while reading a book by Winston Churchill. Muggeridge became enraged by Rose’s behaviour, and gave him a dressing down about his bad manners. He told Rose that he would let Canberra know about the rude treatment he had received at The Residency . Diplomatically, Rose supposedly replied : “ I am reading from a work by a better man than you will ever be . I don’t give a damn what you tell the Minister .”
Muggeridge packed his belongings ,and Bowditch said he drove him to Underdown’s pub . Returning to The Residency, Bowditch said he proceeded to give Rose “ a blast ”, telling him he could get into all kinds of official strife , but he did not care .
****
The biography of Colonel Rose by Trish Lonsdale , written long after Bowditch described the supposed Malcolm Muggeridge event, contained a highly detailed account of the visit of Lord Russell and the outlandish treatment he received from the host at a small dinner party. One of those present , Gunnar Isaacson , described as a cinematographer, married to Colonel Rose's sister , became a close friend of Jim Bowditch and provided Lonsdale with a colourful account of that evening during which Lord Russell became infuriated by Rose , a complaint made to Canberra . Bowditch is not mentioned in the book , but some of the details are similar to what he outlined.
Lonsdale also covered other episodes in which VIPs Colonel Rose was supposed to entertain were treated rudely, aggressively-Sidney and Cynthia Nolan, for example ; it appears Colonel Rose went bush rather than play host to Sir Anthony Eden and the Administrator, Mick Driver, had to come down from Darwin and do the honours .
Lonsdale also covered other episodes in which VIPs Colonel Rose was supposed to entertain were treated rudely, aggressively-Sidney and Cynthia Nolan, for example ; it appears Colonel Rose went bush rather than play host to Sir Anthony Eden and the Administrator, Mick Driver, had to come down from Darwin and do the honours .
Lord Russell had addressed large anti war rallies in London and would almost certainly have been considered by Colonel Rose as “a Commo.” The Centralian Advocate carried several stories about him in l950 , including Lord Russell’s belief that there could be a third world war and there might be a small number of survivors of a nuclear conflict in places like Alice Springs to carry on the human race .
****
In respect of Malcolm Muggeridge, he came to Australia in 1958 on a lecture tour when Bowditch was editor of the NT News in Darwin and would not have received a phone call to come on round to The Residency to meet “ a Commo .” During his time in Adelaide , Muggeridge attended a select dinner organized by author Geoffrey Dutton , Rupert Murdoch one of the media people present. Muggeridge had recently written an article for an American magazine which asked if England needed a Queen.
According to Dutton’s autobiography, Murdoch reportedly said he thought it ridiculous that there was no republican movement in Australia. As a result of his observations of Australia, Muggeridge , referring to Aboriginals,wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald of June 4,1958 : “I have never, anywhere in the world, seen people who have such an air of having no connection with the society on whose fringes they live . They are outsiders indeed-so much that they would appear to be , for the most part, beyond even resenting their wretched circumstances .” When Bowditch was asked by this writer how he first came in contact with Rupert Murdoch, he was not sure, but raised the possibility that it had been in connection with the visit of Malcolm Muggeridge.
Journalist Alan Wauchope was interviewed in Darwin by this writer decades after the supposed Muggeridge incident at The Residency. While he could not recall such an episode as described by Bowditch , he said Colonel Rose had subjected Lord Russell to “ similar treatment” when he came to Alice. His version of the Lord Russell event, lacking in great detail, was that on being taken to The Residency by Wauchope, probably also in the company of Bowditch, the visitor received short shrift from the colonel. According to Wauchope, a less than enthusiastic Rose asked Lord Russell if there was anything in particular he wanted to discuss. When he replied no, Rose had quickly ushered him off the premises .
Colonel Rose eventually shifted out of The Residency and gave his address in Who’s Who as “ The Wurley,” an Aboriginal bush shelter, instead of the prestigious former abode where unsuspecting VIPS received a mixed reception . NEXT : Bowditch sets tongues wagging .
