SHOCK ARRIVAL IN DARWIN- Continuing biog of NT Crusading Editor ,"Big Jim" Bowditch

On February  ll, l955  , ASIO in Darwin  alerted  headquarters   to the fact  that  Bowditch  would  soon  be  heading  north to  manage  the  Northern Territory  News.  It   being the Wet season in the Top End, Jim drove  from  Alice  to  Darwin  with  Betty and  baby son , Peter .  Betty recalled seeing green tree frogs  in the showers and toilets as they got close to  Darwin.  It almost seems as  if  Alice  Springs  expunged   Bowditch  from  its  memory  when he left town.  Books-especially one authorized by civic authorities-subsequently written  about Alice Springs , including the years he was  resident and had been belatedly decorated for his war service ,  curiously  failed  to  mention him.
 

By Peter Simon

 

This could be attributed  the fact  that  he  challenged the  establishment, was  branded a Communist, chaired a Peace Council meeting, took  on  a  senior police officer, advanced  the cause of  half-castes in  particular , confronted  a  Catholic  priest  and  offered a  sympathetic ear to anyone  with a  complaint or a problem .  The  erratic Colonel Lionel Rose, on  the  other hand, was written up , but he represented the establishment  and  was deeply involved in advancing the pastoral industry.                      

 * Outgoing editor Hugh  Mabbett and News staffer Shirley Baird who later ran an  Aboriginal art gallery in Darwin  and was financially  ruined by her involvement in the  Bank of America Down Under Tour of America in the lead up to the  Sydney Olympic Games, her plight and ongoing court struggles covered in  Little Darwin.

Arriving  in  Darwin at night, Jim  drove  to  the  News house , number  27 Georges Crescent , Fannie Bay .  There  they  found a  News  party in  full swing. The  departing editor , Hugh Mabbett, and  the manager, Edgar Pomroy,  were there  with  other staff members.  What transpired  shocked  Bowditch.  He  said  Eric White’s had “lied” to him - both  Mabbett  and  Pomroy had  either been  sacked or resigned  in disgust.   A “ poisonous ” atmosphere  pervaded  the  party.   

Bowditch  had  only been  at the party a  short time when somebody  proposed a  toast  to the collapse of the newspaper.The situation was  so bad  Bowditch   said  that , had  he   “left the gate open in Alice ”,   he would have turned  around  and gone  back .   He  expressed his  unease about taking up the  job to  Mabbett and  Pomroy  but they  told him they  had had enough  and were  going to “ buzz off” ; Mabbett  was  going to  Singapore  to work  on the Straits Times and Pomeroy  intended  applying  for a job in New Guinea.

Feeling apprehensive , Jim  drove  Betty and the baby to the Hotel Darwin and booked in for the night.  Next morning , Jim sorted out the accommodation .  It was a  situation  where  the  Pomroys’ belongings  were  moved out as  the   Bowditch  possessions came in.

 

A  ROUND  OF  FAREWELL  PARTIES 

 

Before Bowditch took over the reins  at the  News ,  journalist Ross Annabell , working  as  a  freelancer and   still hopeful of becoming rich  due to  his uranium   find , decided to  return home to  NZ for  a  holiday .  A   farewell Chinese   banquet was held  after  which  Annabell  and  friends   adjourned  to the  NT News  office. Entertainment  there  included  a  striking hula  dancer ,  supposedly  under  the  watch of ASIO because of  her  connection  with  Don   Mcleod   who organised  Aborigines in  Western Australia to form  mining and cattle ventures . Despite the  farewell, Ross lingered  about town . 

 

There was another farewell party for the Pomroys who received a signed card,above,from “The Mob” and "The Rabble. "  An insert, purporting to be from  Eric White and Don Whitington , thanked  Edgar  for a  job  well done, and  said he would  receive  a  bonus cheque for  1450 pounds ($2900)from  the  paylady,  Margaret  Simpson.  Mrs Pomroy and her children flew  south; her husband and  reporter  Bill  Tuckey drove overland. Tuckey  became a  renowned  motoring  writer  and  author.(In the  l970s Tuckey  would  apply  for a  job  with the  NT Government but  be rejected  because  Chief  Minister Paul " Porky" Everingham  did not like blokes who wore  chunky  gold  jewellery.)     

Yet another  farewell party was held for  Hugh Mabbett before he  left, which  also served as a  house warming  party for  John Crew’s  “ magnificent” ABC  house . As  a result of  the  party ,  Mabbett  wrote  that he  had a  headache all the way from Darwin to Singapore.  As  it turned out , Mabbett  spent a lot of time in Asia , wrote a book about  Bali and was responsible for the eventual publication  of  another  about  an  American  couple who  started a  hotel from scratch  at  Kuta Beach  in the l930s , recently  reprinted and available in the Indonesian  tourist  resort.

 

Pomroy , because  of an ulcer, failed  a  health  check  for the New Guinea post and  instead  went to the Mackay  Mercury ,in Queensland . Mabbett wrote to the  Pomroys  from  Singapore  saying he hoped  they were settling down and getting the   “ smell of  EWA ( Eric White and Associates  )” out of their nostrils. NEXT :  Rampaging, rambling tycoon Jack Gardner becomes bothersome , seeks  female travelling  companion .