RAMSAY SEXES UP WHISPER Continuing biog of Crusading Editor,” Big Jim” Bowditch.

After leaving the Northern Territory News in spectacular fashion, reporter James Ramsay,alias Jim Ramsie , tried to revive  the old printing  plant at  the  union Northern Standard office with the help  of a linotype operator lured away from the newspaper. The plant , however, needed  a lot of money spent on it , which he did  not have.  Nevertheless , with the assistance of his mate Peter Blake and others , he threw himself into  production of a zany , revamped newsletter for the Waratah Football Sports Club,the Waratah Whisper. Under his talented editorship it was registered with the  Indonesian Bureau of Cultural Affairs for transmission  by smoke signal to Bagot,the  Aboriginal  reserve near Darwin airport.

 

The Waratah Whisper was originally a free , roneod publication , the name of which had  been  devised by public servant ,Geoff Loveday, who went on to be an advisor to South Australian  ALP  Premier , Mike Rann.  In its original form ,it had contained items about sporting matches, social events and light-hearted, conventional notes.

 

Editor in  action

Enterprising Ramsay took one look at the publication and  declared he could turn it into  a real money spinner . His inspiration for the  new look  Whisper  was  a  satirical  sheet   called   Midnight  Etaoin ( these being the first six letters  on a linotype  machine keyboard  ) ,   which was  produced  annually for  the journalists’ ball  in  Melbourne.   This publication sent up  people  in the  Melbourne  newspaper  world.  The Darwin counterpart  produced by  Ramsay  contained pictures of  nude women and sent up  local identities , businessmen,  publicans, politicians  and  sportsmen. It was the  talk of the town and attracted a lot  of  advertisements.  

It also had a racy  astrology  column  and ran risque jokes .  Advertisements were  also  unusual : Alec Fong Lim of the Vic Hotel offered free grog to  anyone who could  drink  l8 gallons  of  beer  an  hour .  Somewhat  foolishly,  Bowditch agreed to  print the Whisper at the News.

An event took place  in Darwin  before the first edition  which had a startling impact on the content of the new look, very saucy Whisper.  Before an august  gathering of  Darwin’s  establishment, the  new Supreme Court building had been unveiled . Adorning the  facade  of the building was  a  large  stylised figure   representing the scales  of  Justice , one  hand held high, the other low. Imagine the shock  and laughter which ensued   when the drape  covering the  figure opened to reveal  a tea towel on one  arm  and  an empty stubbie  on the other ! Somebody, believed to be the  son of a prominent  Darwin  law officer,  was said to have scaled down the front of the building during the night  to turn the  figure of Justice into a waiter .

The collective brains at the Waratah  Whisper  came up with a better  idea for the  Supreme Court  front - a nude in all her glory . The only trouble was that they had not reckoned on  Jim Bowditch being  coy about the  female  figure. Several hundred copies of the  newspaper  had already  been run off when Bowditch saw the  nude and  ordered the  press stopped immediately.  Bowditch  instructed that the offending bits be covered  up with a drawn in  brassiere . “ I   hadn’t  realised I was  such a prude, ” he said. “ The boys in the factory said  the  bra made her look sexier. ”

 

The head  of  Melbourne Herald journalist, Douglas  Lockwood, was  superimposed on  a  gowned  woman’s  body and presented as  the Sydney  socialite   Nola Dekyvere  in  a  report of  a   social event at  Government House. Lockood was  furious when he saw the publication.  Bowditch said  Lockwood  threatened to sue everybody  connected  with the  Whisper . “ I had to do a lot of hard talking  with  Lockwood , and pointed out it was just a crazy , schoolboyish    paper  to raise money for a sporting  club.   Doug was still  cranky with me months after the event.”

 

Bowditch was sent up   in the same issue , there being a large photo  of him with a fag hanging out his mouth, under the heading  QUEEN HONORS JIM -  Peace in Our  Time.  It said Bowditch had  been  raised to the  rank of Viscount  and given  a saloon bar to his  OBE.   Bowditch had also  been nominated  for the Nobel Peace  Prize . Mentioned in the  same honors list was  Harry Giese of the Department  of Aboriginal Welfare  for  his  services to the growing boomerang  trade. Kiwi fight  promoter Terry  Alderton  also got a  run.  

 

The laughs ceased when  the  Catholic Bishop of Darwin ,  J.P. O’Loughlin , spoke out  from the  pulpit  against the   Waratah Whisper ,  saying it was  evil  and that no Catholic businessman  should   support the scurrilous  new publication  by advertising in its pages. On hearing of  this  disturbing  condemnation of the Whisper , Bowditch called  on  the Bishop, hoping  to “educate ” him  on the issue. Apart  from  that, Bowditch  said he was  worried that  the Bishop might  urge an advertising   boycott on the NT News  for  printing the offending publication .  Bowditch  believed   that the stance taken by the Bishop  had  been  very narrow  for  an  intelligent  man .  

During his confessional, Bowditch  told  His  Lordship  how he had  modestly   ordered  a brassiere   drawn  on  the naked girl.  What the Bishop  said and  thought in reply to  this sinful revelation by the  prudish editor  is,  unfortunately, not  known. In light of  the  response to the first edition, Bowditch advised Ramsay to  tone  down subsequent  issues.   What a  foolish thing to tell Ramsay.  In the next edition  there was an elegantly attired women in  a  topless dress  and  an  article on  the front page  which  focused  on breasts . The Whisper  said that  the  frank and  fearless  NT News  had come over faint  at the  sight  of a bare bosom.
 

A madcap interview with the “ well- known degenerate    editor ” of the publication   showed  “ Ramsie  ” hamming    it  up as a drunk in front of his typewriter .  Another  straight  photo of the  editor  showed, if  possible ,  an innocent looking   young man,  aged   “14-54 ”, whose ambition it was “ to  punch Jim Bowditch on the nose. ”

Somehow  , the NT Administrator, Roger Nott,  who  only had  one eye , nicknamed  Roger  One  Eye , was shown  having a close  squizz at the  Whisper. There was also a poem,  A Man Who Was Not , about the administrator which referred to him having made a big impression  on Darwin when he   said coats should not be worn  at civic  functions . 

Administrator  Nott and  usually pith helmeted   member of the  Legislative Council “Tiger ”Brennan were  also depicted each wearing a  Beatle wig .     Another story was  written    by  a  special reporter named  Argus  Tuft  . (Repeat  the name slowly and you will get the message ).  D.  D. Smith, MLC, and  Colonel Lionel Rose , both  Alice Springs identities , and Harry Giese  had their heads  placed  on   cyclists  in  training.  Smith  also received special mention for  his   ability  to   read   “ wrongly  prepared  speeches and make them  sound temporarily  convincing. ”

 

The Whisper radio guide included  many programs  dealing with the  Christine Keeler-Profumo spy  scandal in London. Don Whitington’s regular  Canberra  report  in the NT News  was also lampooned and included a photo of Hitler, said to be a backbencher in parliament  . NEXT: Ramsay strikes it rich  with  a  publication  that  rocks  the  nation.