DARWIN'S DYNAMIC MYSTERY MAN -Continuing biog of Crusading Editor,"Big Jim" Bowditch.

 Under Bowditch Northern Territory News circulation rose to 4000 but was  plagued  by  trouble with the  clapped out plant.  A local  diver, marine salvage  expert  and larger than life  character, Carl Atkinson ,right, holding a deadly box jellyfish, in Keith Willey's book, Eaters of the Lotus, was called in to do urgent  repairs on the  press and other equipment. A powerful  man, he could lift large pieces of  machinery which  normally  took  several men to handle .  Once he had been  called  to the Northern Standard  office  to help get a tipsy man  trapped by the arm  in  a printing press. On that occasion  he used  a crowbar  with  such  dexterity  the machine  was  not damaged.  The  injured man was taken to hospital, but was  reluctant to be treated  by a bearded  doctor, saying  there might be nits in his whiskers.

 

Atkinson , who lived on the waterfront  in a collection of  huts at  Doctor’s Gully,  was said to have  beaten up Australian  film star  Errol Flynn in  New Guinea.  In many ways  Atkinson was a mystery man and he helped the legend  along. Bowditch  said  Atkinson had  been “dirty ” about having been arrested as an enemy alien  during WW11, but had soon been released.   It was suggested that he had been born in Melbourne  in l913, son of  Enoch  Atkinson.  However it was also said  he was  known  as  Carl von  Mueller , the name  later changed to  Atkinson.  Whatever the  true  story, he  led an adventurous  life.  In Sydney he  was  said to have lived in bohemian Kings Cross , been a private eye, introduced waterskiing to Australia , was employed by the  marine  firm of Messengers  and  did diving  work in Sydney Harbour.

 

Other claims to fame were that he was the arm wrestling champion of Alice Springs , that he destroyed mines  which were  still floating about Darwin when he  first went  there in l945 and  he  took  Sir Charles  Lloyd Jones   crocodile shooting, the businessman returning to Sydney in a Rolls-Royce.

 
FOOLISH SAILORS,STANDOVER MEN  

When Atkinson drove to the Darwin  Post Office  with a  female passenger, in a distinctive work  vehicle, he was  surrounded by some drunken sailors.  They told him to get out of the car and leered at the girl . Two sat on the bonnet.  In no uncertain fashion, Carl told them to desist but they  foolishly  ignored his  directive ; one  even tried to tweak  his  nose.   In a graceful action , Atkinson  flung open  the  heavy door  of  the car  with so much force  that it was claimed it broke the  kneecap  of one  sailor , who  collapsed  in a  groaning heap . Carl then  grabbed the two  on the bonnet  and dealt  with them in quick time. The others wisely ran off .

 

Known as the Baron of Doctor's Gully, he  had his own  recompression chamber  and saved the lives of many  pearl divers  who  suffered  the  bends . Pets he had  were  a  snake, Sammy, and a croc, Cuthbert ,with whom he went swimming, and who was  given a  spell in  the  chamber after becoming crook. Carl also owned  Darwin's wartime wrecks. 

Some standover men  came up  from south, believed Melbourne, intent on taking  control of  the wrecks, rumoured to have  valuables in safes,  from  Atkinson.  When they arrived  in town they made inquiries  about  where to find  Atkinson, and he was tipped off , one account has it that  the  they  went to the News  and Bowditch raised the  alarm.   When the toughs  arrived  at  Doctor’s Gully they  were bailed up at  the end of a shotgun  by  a man  who worked for  Atkinson.   Atkinson then proceeded to  bash the  daylights  out of  the hoods.  They tottered away and left their car, which was flooded by the incoming tide.  

 ANGRY ATKINSON CHASES JAPANESE  CHIEF

Photos by Peter Simon

A Japanese  company, Fujita Salvage , with l20 men  , came to Darwin  towing  a large floating  crane  and began to  remove  the  wartime  wrecks.  One  hulk , the  tanker British Motorist, was raised , righted and  used as a  mother  ship  for the salvage operations.  The Japanese  would raise  large portions of vessels , transport them to the shallows  and then  an army of workers, all squatting, would chip the rust away.  The Japanese  cook ,  Tsutomu  Watanabe ,bought a  pedigree Collie dog,  named it Fuji  , and  won a prize in  the  North Australian Canine Association’s Championships. The Japanese liked the animal so much they  had   documents prepared to enable them to  take it back to Japan with them when they   finished  salvage work .

A dispute  arose  over  the ownership of   the  USS  Peary  and  the   government  put the ship up for sale.   This infuriated  Atkinson  who  issued a  writ to stop the  salvage operations . The head  of the company  , Mr   Fujita , and his  young  interpreter went to court.  Lawyer  John “Tiger” Lyons , appeared for  the  company  and  during  a  recess  in  the  hearing  draped Fujita in his gown and wig . The  beaming salvage  chief had his photograph taken by the interpreter . 

 

Bowditch was present in the Hotel Darwin when  Atkinson  discussed  payment  for the wrecks  with  Fujita  and  his increasingly   nervous  interpreter.   While admitting he  was a “ little racist”  when it came to  Japanese  because of his war experiences, Bowditch said  he liked  Fujita.  Fujita  foolishly said  he would not pay Carl for the  Peary as he would get it for nothing from the government.  Suspecting he was being  “diddled ”, Atkinson  jumped up in a rage  and  roared .  Fujita  took  to his  heels  , ran  down the corridor  and out into the  street, with Atkinson in  pursuit.  Later on, Atkinson  came back , laughing. 

 

Fujita  also  cautiously  re-entered the hotel  and negotiations  resumed.  Bowditch  borrowed a typewriter from the  hotel reception office  and in a cubicle designed for  taking telephone calls  typed  up an agreement for an amount said to have been 12,000 pound ($24,000).  The carriage on the typewriter  kept  hitting  the  partition and  the end result did not look like a slick legal document.   Nevertheless , Atkinson gave  Bowditch a “sling” for his  services. Bowditch felt not all the wrecks should have been  removed. One  at least  should have been  left as a reminder, a memorial like at Pearl Harbour , to remind Australia what had happened  during the  war.     

Some  of  the salvage  workers  came ashore  on leave  , sampled Australian  beer for  the  first time   and got into trouble. A number just collapsed in various places about town  , including a milk  bar  and  outside the police station ; another  did a dance outside  the Victoria Hotel.  A diver was killed  during the  salvage operations  and as his body lay  in  the morgue a guard of  Japanese slept  around the corpse at night .  The  body was taken to   Channel Island   where it was cremated before the  entire  salvage team.

MANGO MADNESS IN BEDROOM

When an alleged Russian oceanographic research  ship called at Darwin  , Atkinson , as  was  usual with new arrivals , went aboard  to  offer  his  professional  services .  As he  boarded  the ship ,  this  writer , who  had just interviewed the Russians  for the   News, said to Atkinson... “ Watch out Commander Crabb-you could go  missing.” This was a reference  to the mystery  disappearance  of the  wartime  hero  Lieutenant-Commander  Lionel “Buster ”Crabb  while diving near Russian warships  which brought  Marshal Bulganin and  Khrushchev  to Britain in  l956.   Wild stories   circulated  that Crabb  had been captured by the Russians  and taken back to Russia, and that   he had been  working for US Intelligence and not the British .   Authorities claimed a headless  and handless body  in a diving  suit  had not been that  of Commander Crabb.

 

Atkinson responded to the  Crabb  warning  with a laugh  and  saluted in naval fashion- although he was  wearing a white boiler suit , the sleeves cut short for ventilation . When Archbishop Makarios  survived an assassination attempt in Cyprus  during which  some of his bodyguards were killed, Atkinson deplored the Press coverage of the event, which he said  paid little attention to  the  bravery  of the  men  who gave  their lives  protecting a hairy, old , religious  leader. 

 

The hut in which  Atkinson lived had a mango tree  growing through the bedroom . It  was claimed that  whenever  Atkinson made love to a woman he swung from the tree  and beat his chest  like Tarzan . In  any case, many  people were envious of Atkinson, his  speedboat and  the “harem” of  nurses  he  used to entertain  and  take skiing.

Bowditch was informed  about a  puzzling  event  involving  Atkinson who was seen in protective gear , including work gloves, up  a  power pole near Doctor’s  Gully late at night.  He asked Atkinson  for an explanation. According to Atkinson,  he  had  climbed  the pole  when  a  sensitive girl he was  parked with  in a car  became worried about the fate of a cat  chased up there  by  a  dog.  Bowditch  said  it was  a dubious  explanation ; he proffered the  theory  that  it was  more likely  that  Atkinson had  been  running an illegal power supply  down to  his workshop. NEXT : Drunken  Duncan  and Punchy Ted add to the  editor’s  many  crosses.