SMUGGLED URANIUM , INSIDE TOP SECRET WOOMERA , PUNCHY FRANK PACKER-Continuing biog of NT Crusading Editor , "Big Jim" Bowditch

With bullet holes from WW11 which made it leak during the Wet, this was the old Tin Bank premises  of  the NT News  in  which Bowditch became a  renowned , fearless editor.

 

After  all the farewell  parties in Darwin , Kiwi journalist  Ross  Annabell  eventually  mounted  his  trusty BSA Bantam motorbike and set out for   Sydney, gathering  stories  along the way , intending to  take  a  ship home. It proved to be an  exciting  trip. Included  in his souvenirs  of  the Top End   was  a  sample of  Rum Jungle  uranium oxide, yellowcake,   packed in the suitcase on the carrying frame over the  rear wheel. The  yellowcake had  been given to  him when he  exposed the  primitive conditions for workers at Rum Jungle, where  security was supposed to be  strict to  prevent uranium  from  being  stolen .   

 When Annabel arrived  in Alice Springs, he thought about putting  his  motorbike on the train  to Adelaide , but  learned  two trucks  were travelling in  convoy, which would   offer   cheaper  transport and  another story  .   One of the trucks  had  a load  of Marsden  Matting,  flat  metal strips used  in the making  of  wartime airstrips in the Top End  . Torrential  rain began to fall soon after the   trucks left Alice  and the  unsealed   road  became a quagmire.  The Marsden Matting   was  placed over  mud  to enable the  vehicles to get  through  bad stretches. Conditions became  increasing worse   as   the rain  bucketed down . The man in charge of the trucks had   an uncle who was   a South Australian   politician and  rang  him  from  a  small town  along  the way  to see if he  could  arrange emergency  permission  for the vehicles to drive through  the  top secret  Woomera   rocket  range .

When told that there was a  Darwin  journalist  passenger  in one of the trucks, the  MP  said there was no way  a  reporter would be allowed into  the   base. It was decided that  Ross  would be described  as  the  truckdriver’s son , as  his daughter  was  travelling   in  the  group.  After  getting  lost, the trucks  arrived at  Woomera  about midnight and were  escorted at gunpoint by   security police to  a  big hangar where  scientists  were  working on  Jindivik  pilotless  planes.

Then they were directed  to the  township and out through a security gate and told  to return in the morning for an identity  check . Knowing he  had  yellowcake in his luggage, Ross refused to return to Woomera  in case he was “ lumbered ” , and  hid under a bridge  while the others  went  back  in the base.  The  three who returned  were  asked  to provide the name and address of three  people who could identity  them. Nobody  noticed that a fourth  person  was missing.               

 

Arriving in  Sydney,  Annabell made it through Customs  with his yellowcake  and took it to  his parents'  home  in NZ  . While about to write an article  saying how  bad  Australian security was  because   he had  “smuggled” uranium out of  Rum Jungle ,  he received  a  telegram  from his  syndicate  partners  in Darwin   that there  was strong interest in their  uranium  prospect.  After  hiding  the yellowcake  in the woodshed rafters , he   hot-footed  it  back to the Territory,  hoping at  long last to  make his fortune .  On his return to Darwin ,  he became aware of  some  disturbing  information : there  was a  $50,000  fine for smuggling  uranium and  a lengthy jail sentence  as well. 

AUTHOR  AND  MEDIA  BOSS  BECOME  INVOLVED
 

The  news  about  negotiations   for the  uranium  find was promising.  Entrepreneur    Al McDonald  , from Tennant  Creek , had  succeeded  in  getting a  Sydney syndicate  headed by  author Frank Clune  interested in  what  had  been  dubbed  Annamount , after Ross.  The syndicate  took samples  and had  them  analysed .  Alas,  Annamount’s  ore  was  low grade  and  the syndicate  withdrew .  It seems  Annamount  was like an iced  cake -  coated  with a thin layer of  uranium bearing  rocks.   While  in  Sydney,  McDonald  had called  on  newspaper  proprietor  Frank Packer,  whom he  knew from his   boxing days . Packer  had  also been  a boxer,  and  was  glad to see  McDonald.   Packer ordered  a  journalist to  write a  story about  McDonald  highlighting “ his ”- not Annabell’s - latest rich uranium find.  Despite the  favourable write up , McDonald could  not  get anybody else interested  in  Annamount.

 

Back to being a wage slave ,  Annabell  moved into  the Darwin residence  rented  for his  ABC friend  and syndicate member , John Crew , called Pom  because of  his nationality .  Jack Gardner, loaded  with  money from his  uranium  bonanza,  turned  up  in  a  new  Holden  pulling  a  caravan  and  asked  if  he could  park  in  the  yard for a  night.   As  usual,  Gardner  lingered longer.  He roamed the town  drinking  and  Bowditch   ran  a  story  about  him  in the  News .

Gardner  wore out  his welcome  at the  ABC  house and  Ross was  asked  to “ get rid   of  him” .  Before finally  getting  the   message to  move  on,  Gardner  offered  Ross  money  to   introduce him to his  girlfriend ,  the one who  had  been  frightened off  by  Ross's confrontation  with  the  homosexual accountant at the News .  Furthermore,  Jack  said  he would  give  Ross’s  girlfriend  a  large sum of  money if  she accompanied him on  a  free  trip to  Japan .  Much to the relief  of  many in   Darwin ,  Gardner eventually drove off  to go opal mining  at Coober  Pedy  in  South Australia .

 In  the  recent memoirs of   an  old  Central Australian pastoralist, he wrote  how  long ago  he  had  met  a person called  “ The  Hon.  John  Gardner ",  an  English remittance  man , out  at  the  isolated Granites  goldfield.   At  the  time,  Gardner  had a  battered  Chev  ute  with  a " wonky wheel" .  Years  later ,  Gardner   had  turned  up  driving  a new  Holden  after “ striking  it  rich  with  a uranium  mine”, and  asked  the  cattleman  to  accompany  him   on  a  trip  to Cambodia.  NEXT : Gardner’s   strange  sleeping  companion .

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 .    

IN THE ANTIPODES

Vallis  Photo

 

OLD VOWS , OLD LACE



To mark the centenary of  the  ornate bandstand on Townsville's waterfront , married couples   who tied  the  knot  in  the  surrounds  are  lining up  to  renew  their  wedding vows . The impressive  building  in the background , built in  Federation  red brick style , is  the old   Queen's Hotel , of which  Alderman  John  Henry Tyack , mentioned  in  the bandstand's  plaque, below,   was  the licensee  from 1899.   Tyack took steps to beautify the   area in front of  the  hotel  and  Queensland Premier  Robert  Philp  sent  him  postcards  of  the  waterfront  at  Durban , South Africa ,  saying he   could  make  Townsville  as   beautiful.   Acting  on  this  advice , he  began collecting  money  for the  bandstand .    Vallis  Photo .

 

POST-ELECTION PECKING ORDER

Expected  to   hatch  the  day of   the  election  ,  when  the sky fell  in  , this  cute  baby curlew , with  its  mother ,   arrived  a   week  late  in  the  Little  Darwin  wildlife  ménagerie.  It  is  being  taught  how  to  vote  in   readiness  for   when   the   turkeys  call   the   double  dissolution   in   a   bid  to completely   rule  the   roost .

RALLY ROUND THE FLAGS , BOYS

 

Loosely inserted in   this  worn , slim volume  on  flags , bought at  an annual  North  Queensland  book  fair ,  was  the   World  War  1  poem   ,  The  Australian   Volunteers ,  by  R. R.  Lanyon , of   Lawrence  Street , Inverelll ,  northern  NSW. Lanyon  , who   is   said to  have  had  two  years’  active  service , calls  for  volunteers   for   the  ongoing  war  at   Gallipoli.   The  sons  of   Australia  are  urged  to  join  up  and  replace  the   daily  gaps  in  the  Australian  forces  on  the  hills  at  the   Dardenelles.  Among  the  many  flags  in  the  book  is  that  of  the   Italian  Governor of  Eritrea , then  part  of   the  Italian  empire   after  the  invasion  of  Ethiopia  in the Horn of  Africa . 

SCOOP : MONORAIL FOR CANBERRA

The   former   Sydney   monorail  has  been  bought   for   Canberra .  Repainted  and  aptly  named  the  Genghis  Khan , it  will  be  used   to   exclusively   transport   the  horde   of   Coalition  members , more numerous  than  a plague of  Bogong Moths , invading  the  capital.  It  is  understood  Clive  Palmer  has  offered  to   build   a   fullscale   replica of   Noah’s Ark  for  Lake  Burley  Griffin  at  his  Townsville refinery  to  add  to   the   Wally World  atmosphere  of   Canberra  when   parliament  resumes.