THE WATTIE CREEK CAMPAIGN Continuing biog of Crusading Editor,"Big Jim" Bowditch

 

There is no doubt that  Bowditch played a large part in the ultimate success of the  battle  by  the Gurindji to win back their country at Wattie Creek , a milestone  in the history of  Aboriginal land rights.  Bowditch it  was  who  doggedly  kept  the  story alive,  the  struggle  seemingly  at  a  dead end  at  times.  

One of the  major players in the  campaign , author Frank  Hardy , had   numerous  dealings  with  Bowditch  during the battle. It was  fortuitious  that  Hardy  became involved in the  matter .  Going through  a  tough  time  in Sydney, Hardy  accepted  a l965  invitation  from   journalist and film maker Cec Holmes  to come  to  Darwin  for some warmth  and liquid  bonhomie.   

By Peter Simon

 

Hardy hitchhiked north, found himself among friends  and regularly  drank  with  Bowditch.  Puffing on  a pipe, Hardy   often came home with him  and  drew cartoons for the children.  A  regular Darwin watering hole for  Hardy  was  the Workers’ Club  where communist  Brian Manning, involved with  Bowditch in the  Stayput Malays affair, was  the  manager .  Other  people  Hardy   mixed  with  when he was in  Darwin were  watersider  Jack and Esther Meaney  who had  hidden the Stayput  Malays  down the track .  Jack  Meaney had  met Hardy during the war  at Mataranka   and   had a colourful way of   expressing  things.  

Meaney  was  scornful of   white  Australian  stockmen  who would not unionise  and  aped all things American .  Hardy wrote that  Jack  said   stockmen  would eat  goat droppings  if  told they were  American candy .

 

Briefly , the Gurindji saga  was precipitated  by   Aboriginal and   European  indignation at the failure to  gain  an award  giving  Aboriginal  stockmen  equal pay .   A poorly prepared   North Australian Workers’ Union  application for equal pay for  Aboriginal stockmen in which  not one Aboriginal  was called to  make a submission  resulted in Commissioner  Moore saying the Aborigines would have to wait for three years  before they could  get a  measure of  pay justice. The outcome of the award  was that graziers  moved  Aborigines  off  stations.    

NAWU   secretary Paddy Carroll held  an open  air  meeting  at  Rapid Creek, a Darwin suburb , where he explained the  outcome  of the  equal pay application to a group of about 60 Aboriginals, only about six of them from  bush  cattle stations.   Manning and  Bowditch were in attendance , Jim covering the  meeting for the newspaper. 

PROTEST  STRIKE

Angry activists-black and  white - goaded the NAWU  into   taking protest  action  and called a strike of Aboriginal stockmen   at  Newcastle Waters   . Manning said the owner of  Newcastle Waters , Roy Edwards , was  a   reasonable person , but the station   was ideal for the  NAWU to supply the strikers , being next to the highway  .  One of the stockmen  at Newcastle  Waters  was  Captain  Major, another expressive  Gurindji, who  would not  only  contribute to  the  Wave Hill  victory but later  , with  Bowditch,  confront  a large  meeting of  white residents in  Katherine  who  claimed they were being discriminated  against  by  the Whitlam  Government in  favour  of  Aborigines .

In   August  l966 , about 22  Gurindji stockmen employed  on Wave Hill, led by  Vincent Lingiari , went on strike for  better pay and  conditions . News of the strike  was   telegrammed  to Darwin  and  relayed to  Bowditch .  The  strikers  set up a camp in  the  bed of the Victoria River  near  the  Wave Hill   Welfare settlement . Later they moved  to Daguragu  ( Wattie Creek )  and established  a more permanent camp.  Daguragu  was sacred land , the centre of  Gurindji  Dreaming , and  a short distance from  Seal Gorge  where the bones of their  ancestors were kept. They  subsequently  sought the  return of their  tribal land .  

A secret  report  dated  25/9/66  , headed   C.P.A. INTEREST IN  ABORIGINALS  (N.T.), covered a  social evening  under the dual  sponsorship of the   N.T. Council for Aboriginal Rights  and the Darwin Branch  of the C.P.A. The idea of the gathering , it said, was  to foster good relations with the Aboriginals , who were invited to  have a few beers  and a talk , but no mention  to be made of politics. 
 

INTERCEPT REPORT

Those attending the function included  Jim Bowditch , Frank Hardy, Bill Donnelly , Jo Cunningham , Brian Manning  , George and  Moira Gibbs, Dexter Daniels , Davis Daniels  and 10 other unidentified aboriginals. ASIO noted the   evening finished  at about midnight , and “ everyone was   pretty  full ”.   

About that  time , an ASIO    “Intercept  Report”, headed   “Communist   Party of Australia  Interest in Aborigines ”, for the period  August 26-29” , contained some  cryptic information . It said   Frank Hardy   had contacted  communist    Laurie  Aarons . During the conversation  Hardy   said a  good article had appeared  in the Mirror  and  there had been  quite  a long article in the  Sun  (Sydney papers ) ,probably referring to the  strike of Aboriginal stockmen. . A paragraph in the  report  said  Hardy had  spoken to one of his native  friends  who had said “ a match  is in the spinifex”,  a highly original way to put it .  Hardy, the  summary  continued , had   been speaking  to BADDICH(phonetic), probably  Bowditch , a Darwin  journalist , and that there  would  also be a  big coverage in  The Australian  the following day.  

In another conversation with Aarons, Hardy was reported to  have indicated he might consider  going up , presumably to Darwin  . He  had also spoken to a person thought to be  Brian   Manning . There was mention also of bringing down to Melbourne   “ the  actor  chap  ”( Tudawali  ? )   or the  “Irish bloke” ( Paddy Carroll ?) .  There was also  talk of getting  a plane up  north.         

Hardy  did  come  to Darwin   and stayed with the  Holmeses.  Bowditch  and Hardy  drove all the way to Wave  Hill and   received a  hostile reception from  whites  on the  Vestey owned  station.   A reporter  from the  NT News , Peter  Murphy , flew from Darwin to the  Wave Hill airstrip  in  a  plane chartered by  the  newspaper with  Frank Hardy ,  NAWU   Aboriginal   organiser  Dexter Daniels  and  others . On arrival  , they   received another  hot  reception.

They  were  firmly told they had  five minutes to get off the cattle property by a man  who  made a  show of  a  firearm  and a whip . While  the  party  spent three days at Wattie Creek   a  supply  truck  driven  by   Manning  arrived   from  Darwin.  Murphy was impressed by the  strict control that Lingiari had over the  camp dwellers who literally tore at boxes on the truck  in  search of   tobacco , they  having  been  without  cigarettes  for   several weeks.  Lingiari  firmly told   them   they could not  touch tobacco  until they  cleaned up every bit of paper  from around the truck . Murphy went on to become  a  media advisor to  several Chief Ministers of the  Northern Territory. NEXT : The battle hots up .