THE MARATHON MOUNT ISA STRIKE Continuing biog of Crusading Editor , “Big Jim ” Bowditch.

Police  arresting  strikers  in   Queensland  Government  plan  to  smash  unions .

Due to  his close  involvement  in  the  running of  the Mount Isa Mail in Queensland  as well as being editor of the  Northern Territory News in Darwin   , Bowditch  was  able to  tell of a  rare occasion  when  Rupert   Murdoch lost  a  newspaper  battle  due to  people with  greater wealth and   determination .  This was  during  the  protracted  Mount Isa  Mines  strike    from    August  l964  to  April  l965  which was seen  as a  threat to  the  Queensland  economy . Workers had  asked for more showers to be  made available  at the end  of shifts , an increase in pay of $8 a week  and  other  better  conditions , which  were  refused.

The  key   figure  in the dispute , which involved  4000 workers, was  Pat Mackie, right, who wore a red baseball cap and  became a national identity, attracting  “ commie”  epithets    from  his  detractors , even  being   described as  a  Canadian -Yankee gangster  -  despite having  been  born in  New Zealand , his  father  Australian .

 

 Born in l914 , he ran away to sea at 15  and was involved in union activities  , including  being  a ''captain of  picket captains'' in a lengthy New York waterfront strike  in 1948 , in which police used horses  trained to rear up and  kick at picketers  and  gangsters, acting  on behalf of  the agents provocateur  who  were  infiltrating  union  lines.

After travelling widely, including Canada , Mackie was attracted  to  Mount Isa  where  it was said  there  was money to be made . From Brisbane he  headed north  and confronted police  in Bundaberg  over the treatment of an  Aboriginal man. Defending  the  strike ,  Mackie   said  the situation was really a  lockout  by one of the  world's largest mining companies, the American Mining and Smelting Corporation.  Mount Isa Mines Limited, he charged, had  manufactured  and  prolonged the dispute  to  escalate  world  copper prices.

 

By Peter Simon  

The Queensland  Premier Sir Francis Nicklen claimed the strike was part of  ''communist strategy'' to wreck every major development in the state. It has been  reported that the   federal government asked  ASIO   whether it  was possible to  deport  Mackie and  received  advice  it was not. When the Australian Council of  Trade Unions threatened  a  statewide  24-hour strike  in Queensland,  the Nicklin Government called  off  its  state  of  emergency.  At first , the  Mount  Isa  Mail  had covered  the  strike.  However, as the  strike  proceeded and  feelings ran high , the  town  painted in  swastikas  overnight  , a decision was taken by   Murdoch executive , Leo  McDonald , in Brisbane  to ignore the  major event  which was  receiving  nation-wide coverage. In a taped interview, Bowditch said McDonald had been “ terrified ” about  upsetting  the  mining company and that MIM  would  start  its own paper , which eventuated .

 

Bowditch had protested that the  strike was getting “massive” press coverage  down south , being the biggest story in the country  at  the time , and you could   just  not  fail  to report  it  in the  hometown  paper. McDonald had “ pulled rank” on him  and said  not  to  cover  the  strike . They  had  become “ more or  less  permanent  enemies .” 

 Written instructions  were  issued  to  Bowditch  from  Brisbane  not  to  cover  the strike  in  the paper . So  while  the  bitter  strike  threatened  the  Queensland  economy  and  copper prices rose globally  , the Mail simply did  not  report  the  event . 

 
A  NOTHING  NEWSPAPER  IN " TROPICAL  ISA"
 

Because of  this stance  , Jim said   all  parties in  the  dispute  went against  the Mail. In Bowditch’s estimation, the mining company  came to the conclusion that  the  Mail , by not supporting the  company , was clearly not  on  its side. And by  eventually not  running   anything  at  all about  the dispute , it was really regarded  as  “ a  nothing  ” newspaper. Bowditch  admitted , however  , that had he  had his way and  fully covered  the  strike ,  following  certain angles that   he  felt  should have been  pursued , especially  with  Mackie ,  the  mining  company would  probably have  been  “ dirty ” on the  Mail  anyway . 

Eventually , MIM  offered to  buy the  Mail , but News  Limited  refused to sell.  On  being  knocked  back , MIM  started  a new newspaper, The Star ,  with the  help of  Asher Joel, a prominent  PR man  who had  worked  for  the Victorian  Liberal Party . 
 

Joel was a  friend of  media owner Frank Packer  and  when  he started in opposition to  Murdoch ,  Consolidated Press editor- in-chief  and prominent columnist , David McNicoll ,   walked into  the  reporters’ room at the  Sydney Daily  Telegraph  and asked  if  anybody  would like to  go and work in the tropics , saying there was a job available in  Mount  Isa . A reporter  who  heard  McNicoll make  the  statement  and  had  worked  in the Isa  , said  he  did not regard   the   mining  town  as  very  tropical .  

Murdoch  decided  to  fight  the  new  paper  and  Bowditch was  sent to  Mt Isa for about  three months. Both publications brought out  large weekly papers  in  the small  mining town.  Bowditch estimated that  they   were  losing  5000  pound ($10,000)  a week . While Bowditch said the  opposition paper was  inferior , it  had the  backing of the mining company  which  owned  the  town .  Murdoch   came  to  Mount  Isa  for a   conference  with  Bowditch  and  Leo  McDonald  and a    MIM  representative.  
 

 McDonald  and  Bowditch had  a stand up argument ; McDonald  blaming  Bowditch for the  situation  in  Mount Isa . Bowditch pointed out  he had the  written  directive  from McDonald  not to  write anything  about  the  strike and  this had damaged  the paper   in  all sectors. 

The MIM   company  representative  agreed  that  the fact  that the paper  had  not covered the strike was the reason  why  a rival publication  had  been  started.   It  was  impossible  for the  Murdoch  paper to  survive in the  company  owned and  run  town.  Murdoch eventually cut  his  losses  and  sold out.  MIM closed down The Star  and  the Mail continued.

The  August  1965 edition of  Overland  carried  Pat Mackie’s  own account   of  the  Mount Isa   strike and  opened with  this strong  statement : While the nation’s  press gleefully and no doubt dutifully reports that the Mt Isa  strike  is over and  that the mine workers  are whistling their way home  with much enlarged pay packets, a true picture  would portray Mt.Isa as nothing other than a forced labor  camp. Sullen and morose workers , driven back to work on the Company’s terms by the Nicklin Government's police  state legislation , are  far  from whistling.  They are seething with rage  and  resentment  as evidence  reveals the bitter  truth  that only a  few of the original contract miners are henceforth  to  be permitted to work on contract. This means, for the majority, a resultant  cut of more  than  fifty per cent in  take- home pay...

In an explanatory note, Overland said it was pleased to publish Mackie’s  retrospect on the strike, the most serious outburst  of industrial unrest  in  Australia in 15 years. The strike, it said , was so so dramatic  and the leadership of  Mackie  so dynamic  that  both would  provide material  for sociological  and political  analysis for  decades to come…In addition, the recent warnings  by  the Deputy  Prime Minister of the dangerous inroads  of  foreign capital  have a relevance as  poignant  in the  field  of Australian life  as  in  industries  like  Mount Isa.

MURDOCH  BUYS ANOTHER  PAPER

Despite being forced out of Mount Isa, Murdoch  soon had  another regional  paper -  the  Centralian Advocate  in Alice Springs , which he  bought  in l966 .  Bowditch  said Murdoch, keen on the uptake,  had probably  formed the  intention   to  buy the  Alice paper when Jock  Nelson ,  MHR , offered   half  share  to Jim if he came back  as editor. However,  Nelson told this writer that  once in  Canberra  he  had  asked   Murdoch  if he  would  like to  buy  the Advocate.   Murdoch   said  he was tied up  with other things at the time -his new venture , The Australian one of them-  but asked Nelson if he needed  some money .   

Nelson replied  that it was not a  money problem  at the Advocate , but a  staff problem .  Putting more money into the paper would  just be  like pouring  money down the  drain.  Asher Joel , the man who had been in   opposition  to  Murdoch  in  Mount Isa, had made  an  offer  for the  Alice  paper ,  but  it had    been  rejected .  Another who expressed  an interest  in  buying    had  been   Colonel Lionel  Rose  with   backing  from  people  on   the  conservative  side  of Territory politics.   

Reporter Tony  Malone, who had worked  at the NT News  , was  appointed  managing  editor of the Advocate.  Malone subsequently took  up important posts in Sydney and  Arizona  in  the  expanding Murdoch  empire.

In 2002, Mackie published his autobiography Many Ships to Mount Isa. A reviewer wrote  : ''When confronted as to  his ideological position, he (Mackie) would clearly  define himself as  a  Wobbly, working  tirelessly to improve the working and living conditions of  the rank and file''. In 2007 his  achievements  were  the subject of a Queensland musical, Red Cap, his legacy to Mount Isa good working conditions  and  other  community  facilities. NEXT:The  French connection upsets  Murdoch.

BARRIER REEF BATTLE HOTS UP

GetUp's   latest  message  highlights  the  activities of Adani, the biggest power company  in  India , which  wants to  build  one of the  world's largest coal mines in Queensland . If the Carmichael Mine  goes ahead  it will ship 60 million tonnes of coal  through  the Barrier Reef  each year. Along  with  Greenpeace , GetUp has  carried out  research into the  company's environment track  record , resulting in reports of  waterway  destruction , bribery and  illegal construction.See the video  report on  https://www.getup.org.au/adani .

GetUp says the good news is Adani still needs to borrow billions of dollars before it can proceed. It is  desperately looking all over the world for  banks to lend it money. Deutsche Bank and HSBC have  already ruled it out, citing UNESCO's concerns  about  the  project.

SAVE THE MURDERING WAILERS

 

It  is  hoped  that  former Senator Bob Brown’s   newly  acquired  interest  in  the extraordinary  Australian bird,  the Curlew, will  raise community  interest  in  these  creatures and result in  more protection , particularly in  North Queensland  where  they  are  in  reasonable numbers, but  under  threat , at  times deliberately  run down by motorists.  Once  prevalent  in  southern  states, the birds  are   few  and   far  between. Attempts  are  being  made   in  some areas  to breed   them   in  protected  enclosures  to   reintroduce  them to the countryside. With a mournful  cry at night, they  have  been called  murder birds .  Over the years   Brown , who once worked as  a doctor in  Darwin and Alice Springs, has  been involved  in  many  environment   and  human  rights  battles,the latest to save  whales  from   the    bogus  Japanese scientific   slaughter .    

CLUMP, SLITHER ,CLUMP-WHACK! - Continuing biog of Crusading Editor,"Big Jim" Bowditch

An  unsuccessful  campaign  Bowditch  fought  was   against the  use of  Quail Island , near  Darwin, as  an  RAAF    bombing range .  Some  people came to  him  seeking  his help to  stop the bombing. Reporter Les Wilson went to the  island and filed a story.  The  island has a  Dreamtime  spring  and  is  a  turtle breeding ground . The  campaign was  a  long  one , but  the  Federal Government  and  the  RAAF  refused to  budge

Bowditch  revived the  issue in an  editorial once again  mentioning the Dreamtime spring and   its significance to  Aborigines. The  government and the RAAF were  presented as heartless  and slow to respond.   Then  came another unusual  editorial  headed  TURTLES ARE IN THE SOUP in  which he  waxed  whimsical and painted a  heart  wrenching  scene  on  Quail Island.   Mr and Mrs Turtle , he wrote, would never hear the clump...slither... clump ...of  baby turtles  flippers.  This , of course, was a play  on the  pitter patter of little children’s feet.  

By Peter Simon

 The  editorial continued in similar  vein ,  speaking of  scrambled eggs, interrupted romances  due  to bombing  and falling   birthrates.  It raised the  possibility of  turtles  turning to drink  due to the  bombing, crawling about in  bullet proof vests  and childless  turtles  stealing  eggs  from  other nests .  

Out at the  RAAF  base   the editorial  was treated like  a  kamikaze  attack on the airport.  On  reading  the paper,   the  RAAF  chief, Group Captain  Dixie Chapman,  jumped into his  chauffeur driven  car  and went to the  NT  News  office.  There he  confronted Bowditch  in his office,looking like a cross  between a  rubbish tip and a bomb crater, over the  odd  editorial .

Chapman  made it clear that he had  read a lot of   what might be impolitely termed bullshit in his day , but the clump , slither, clump of  turtles’ flippers  took the prize.   Both men  laughed  heartily.  Bowditch reminded the bemused  officer  that   turtles also  have mothers .

 

 PADDY   WHACKED   IN   PUB

 

Quail Island and its unfortunate turtles  were responsible for Bowditch entering the combat zone .  A southern  journalist  said it was not safe to  go into  the  Victoria Hotel  beer garden  because  drinkers there  would fight at the drop of a hat . Jim scoffed at the report , and while drinking  with Les  Wilson  at the  Vic  decided to carry out a survey  to  show that  it  was not  filled  with  punchy  patrons.  He went from table to table  asking people, sometimes in an  offensive way  , if they wanted a fight.  Most people  knew him ,and just  laughed . Some told him to piss  off. Others said  they would oblige the following  day. 

But there was  a  big   Irishman  who aggressively    said  he would like a fight because he had read  the stories in the Northern Territory News about  Quail Island and its turtles and they  were a load  of bullshit. The RAAF, he said, had to  practise  bombing to  be ready for war. 

 

FIGHT NIGHTS

At this stage,  Wilson, who had been  watching  proceedings like a guardian angel and laughing at the responses Jim  received, stepped in. He told the Irishman  he had written the  Quail Island stories and to come outside and try on  somebody  more his equal  in  weight and age. The Irishman was keen to  take on  Les , also known   as  “Thrasher ” Wilson because of his tendency to go the knuckle , and  they  went to  the   “bull ring” at the  back  of the  hotel .  Thump ! The Irishman  turned  turtle and bit the  dust .

Despite the  valiant efforts of Big Jim and  Wilson,  the  slow moving,  neurotic  turtles of Quail Island were  bombed  for many  more years , until  a new range  was  established on the  mainland  in  recent times.

 

Wilson  kept a  close eye on Bowditch in  hotels and  steered  him out of many  potentially dangerous situations  which might have landed him in the cells. There was an occasion , however ,  when Wilson feared he , his editor and perhaps other people  might be placed in  the lockup  due to a story . This  involved  a colourful  Darwin identity, another  Kiwi  , Terry Alderton, a  Works Department  clerk , who   organised  boxing  matches which were a part of  Darwin’s  way of life in the  l950s and  l960s.He was involved in teaching  boxing at the Darwin Police  Boys' Club  

 

The  fights  were held  at various venues,some in  the open air,this  writer  helping construct a  ring mounted on 44 gallon drums. Big crowds attended the  fights, including  lawyers Dick Ward and  John  Lyons  who sat  together.  At one fight , “Tiger” Lyons  held up  whisps of his gingery hairy  and  said he  would  back the red corner. 

 

To deny a claim , Alderton would say , “ God be my judge ,I did not ... ” People, especially members of  the News staff , mocked  his declaration of righteousness.  They would  tack  his “God be my judge” on  to  denials  of  unseemly acts  with girls, boys and a variety of  animals, including  camels.   Wilson and  Alderton traded blows one night and the fight promotor  came off second  best.  Alderton told how he had had been on a ship which sailed into an American base in the Pacific  during WWll  and had been impressed to  hear  Glenn  Miller's "Dawn Patrol " being  played  over  speakers .  

 

LEPROSY REPORT  CAUSES UPROAR  

Alderton  took boxers  to the East Arm  Leprosarium   to entertain  Aboriginal  patients.  While drinking with  Wilson,  Alderton  mentioned that  there was a sad situation at the  leprosarium  where a  white girl had been admitted  suffering from  the disease.  Sensing it was a major story,  Wilson asked if he  could  go  to East Arm   with  Alderton  as  his assistant .  There was  reluctance  on  both  Bowditch’s  and  Alderton’s  behalf , because  the law  prevented  publication of details  about  people suffering from leprosy ; breaches  could result in a prison term.

Apprehensive about  what might transpire, Wilson nevertheless went to East Arm  and   wrote a  touching story about the girl for the  Sydney Sunday Mirror, which  included   a  photograph  of  her with a nun. 

 

 Wilson warned  the newsaper’s editor, Zell Rabin, in advance  about the  NT law banning  publication of  any details about  lepers.  It had been decided to run  the story  and after its publication  Wilson received  a number of  calls from  angry  Darwin  government officials , including  the head of  the  Welfare  Department, Harry Giese. Recalling the  episode, Wilson  said he  had packed his toothbrush and razor  just in case he was   arrested and lodged in the cells  . However, the  only time he   was ushered  into the cells during his time  in Darwin had  been to to  see the editor.

It was no surprise then that  Bowditch asked Wilson   to extend his time in the Territory by a year. Apart from being a good reporter ,  Les was  handy  to have  around as a bodyguard for the  fragile editor who got into  frequent scraps.

************ 

After leaving  Darwin , Wilson  became a  hotshot  journalist  in     Australia, England and   America . He worked on the Sunday Mirror  in Sydney  under the editorship of Zell   Rabin .  On  Friday afternoons Rupert  Murdoch came  from his  office to  discuss the contents   of  the upcoming   Sunday paper with  Zell . Rabin would  break out  dice  and he , Murdoch , Wilson  and others  would  shoot  craps , a  game he picked up in New York .  Rabin  also had  the unusual habit of  standing  on  his  head , his feet against the wall ,  to  improve  the   flow of  blood , according  to  Wilson.

 

From   Sydney , Wilson  went to  Melbourne  and  then  to   London  where he worked on  a magazine with   another  colourful  Kiwi  reporter, Jim  Oram ,  who subsequently became  a  close  friend  of Jim Bowditch .  Wilson wrote  early  stories about the Beatles and  the Rolling  Stones  . Of  the Rolling  Stones , he opined  : “  The worst  pop group in the world . They’ll  go nowhere”.  Over  the  years ,  this   statement  would haunt  Les .  Furthermore ,the  Rolling  Stones manager , Andy Oldham,  even offered  Wilson   a share in  the  group  for a mere  three hundred pounds ($600) ,  but he  turned it down .  
 

During  his time in  London , Wilson  went to  Hamburg  and tracked down the  “ Dead   Beatle ”,  Stuart Sutcliffe , along with  early photographs of the group  taken by their  hairdresser , Astrid Kerchner,  which  made   headlines in  Fleet Street.  After a stint as  a feature writer on the  Daily Sketch , one of the big circulation magazines  , Woman , paid him to   do  a Hollywood  series  on popular  TV  shows  like  The Beverly Hillbillies , My Favourite Martian  and  My  Three Sons . 
 

In those days, Wilson said the British media was reluctant to send  one of its own  across the  English  Channel to get  a story . It was   left open to “ mad reporters from the colonies ” to travel   abroad, and  they  made names for themselves as well as   a good deal of  money .
 

 

Wilson  joined the  New York office  of the  Sydney  Telegraph , came back to Sydney  as   a feature writer  and later  news  editor  of the Sunday  Telegraph .  He returned  to America  and joined the National   Enquirer , the mass circulation  publication  big on  scandals  and  Hollywood  exposes , where he  was  a reporter and  then  assistant editor, “ earning heaps and spending  heaps . ” He now lives  in  Hervey Bay , Queensland ,  and   sedately  rides  a  bicycle ; had  he bought a share in the Rolling Stones he  would  travel  in  a stretch limo  and own the South  Island of  Kiwiland .   NEXT: The Mount Isa strike.

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN UNDER "CARING " COALITION

A   Pete  Steedman  production  with  a course of Peter  Burleigh's  monkey  gland  injections .

THE SCREW OF DOOM UNLEASHES COOL , NEW AGE FRANKENSTEIN

Correspondent  Peter  Burleigh’s latest despatch   from  France  where  he is  helping to revive  that  country’s  economy  by  fixing  the  many  things  that  need to  be done   to  the  good  ship  Butterfly   before he and  Judi   can  resume  canal  cruising .      

 

Captain  Burleigh  and   Judi eager  to blast off .

Some people are challenged by the necessity for high moral behaviour, or whether to  obey  laws they don’t respect, or simply to be kind to crippled Hungarians who need a  handout. We are in this latter category as well  as a toxic sub-category in which we suffer the conspiracy of technology.  

 

In other words, whatever the negative conspiracy de jour is we’ll be on its hit list. To people like me a screwdriver is like a supercomputer, a hammer like a spacecraft. Removing the defunct refrigerator from the boat is an apparently simple procedure, so simple that I can’t get it to budge and am forced to call in the services of a boatyard mechanic.

 Antony believes in force when dealing with boats. He swears at  machinery a lot – “Putain! Con! Batard! Bordello de Merde!” – and this means that  he, like me, has overlooked  the screw holding the refrigerator to the wall. Mutual tugging and heaving eventually wrenches the fridge from its foundations, breaking the metal support. If the fridge wasn’t broken before  it  sure  is  now.

Getting the new fridge on board without deforming the railings or ripping up the deck is a  crisis overcome by herniating our stomach muscles by lifting it to head-level and pushing it onto the stern. Then we must assemble it (and reassemble several broken bits using that old favourite, Gaffer Tape). Although branded as ‘WAECO’ we note it has been manufactured in Hungary.

REVENGE  OF  THE  MAGYARS

 

Its label should read ‘Made and Dropped in Hungary by Resentful Magyars’.  Some of its protuberances have been bent beyond utility so we cannibalize the old machine to build a kind of Frankenstein’s monster. Ice runs in its veins. Finally, by calling on all our electrical skills, we connect and gaffer-tape the red and black wires in the correct sequence and move the hinges to the other side of the door. The fridge slides into its space as if it has been tailor-fitted. It switches on without starting any electrical fires or setting off  the smoke alarms.

Fridge surgery is just one of a series of issues to confront us. They include a leaking stern hatch which threatens to fill the rear compartment of the boat, an insidious leak in the engine compartment which never drips while you’re watching but becomes deep by the morning, and the impending replacement of our UK gas bottle fitting with a new French version which  disregards the EU Parliament’s attempts at standardisation.

 

 This requires a visit from a qualified French gasfitter/plumber. These people are as rare as virgins in Parramatta. “When might he come to do the work?” we ask.“You know the saying,” replies the Marina Manager. “Jesus’  return is  a certainty, the  plumber’s arrival only a  possibility.”

 

To our delight Laurent the Gasfitter does turn up, and he’s a day early. He’s polite, efficient, and speaks not a word of English. He promises to consummate the new gas bottle and the boat’s gas distribution system the next day, and once again he arrives early, fully prepared with a little brass dingus which he does not have to weld in place (welding and propane don’t seem to go together, but in France you never know), tests it, tells us the whole thing will cost 50 euros. He gets 55 euros and leaves happy.

The day of our departure is nigh. No it’s not, the bow and stern thrusters break down. Without these the boat will soon resemble a bucket of rusted metal. Thrusters are propellers in tubes run by electric motors which allow us to park the boat sideways  and to avoid stone walls.

 

Antony explains the technical problem: “The whoring illegitimate sons of Romanian sheep molesters (the thrusters) are kaput. They are not acting rationally and need new…(here he mimes the working of some secret part).” Later the Marina Manager says they need new brushes. These parts cost 100 euros each plus labour. They must be ordered from Holland and may take several weeks to arrive unless ….”Yes, yes?”, we exclaim…unless we pay an extra 15 euros for express delivery. Sigh.

The thruster parts do arrive from Holland and Anthony returns, dismantles the motors and judging by his foul language does something unspeakable to them. They work. The day of our departure is nigh, although we have said  that before. NEXT :  Up  the  Limpopo?

FUNKY GREEN ANT PATCHWORK

VALLIS PHOTOGRAPH