Saturday, August 9, 2014

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

Continuing  biography  of  Northern  Territory  Crusading  Editor, "Big  Jim " Bowditch

Concorde
It  is doubtful if  Seattle ,  Qantas ,  American  hot gospellers  and London  knew what hit them when  Bowditch went on two  overseas trips  in the  l970s . The first was to  Seattle  courtesy of  Qantas to see  the Boeing jumbo  jets and come back on the  inaugural  flight  of  the    City  of Darwin .   Before  setting  out on the  trip , Bowditch  was drinking with  Australia’s  Rock and Roll  King, Johnnie "The Wild One " O'Keefe who was   performing   in Darwin .  O’Keefe and  Bowditch  had  "clicked " the first time they met.    Hearing that  Bowditch was soon  off to  USA, he asked him what he was going to wear.  Bowditch said  he  had a  pair of long pants and would borrow a jumper  and a coat , there being no use  for such clothing in Darwin .  

This was not  good enough  for O'Keefe , so   he supplied  Jim   with a  wardrobe of trendy  clothes. This included  a  double-breasted , pin-striped, blue-black  gangster type  suit with  wide lapels  and padded  shoulders  . There  was also a mauve   suit,  four dress  shirts , ties, built up  shoes  and even floral  underpants.  O'Keefe  also supplied a  thousand dollar Spanish leather  overcoat .  In addition,  he  gave Bowditch  a  pair    of   gold  cufflinks  O'Keefe  had been given  when   he appeared on the  Johnny Carson  Show  in  America.   Bowditch had never  been so sartorial .  

He and  some  other journalists were flown to  Sydney by Qantas  to join a jumbo  for America. The party was accommodated  in the Wentworth Hotel ; it was erroneously  believed  by the journalists that the  frig contents,  which  included French champagne and  scotch ,  was  free   so  they  drained them  dry . 

QANTAS  STAFF  WORRIED

As a result , on  the flight to America the journalists were a bit tired and   emotional , especially  Bowditch .   He  slumped down in  one of the swivel chairs  in the club  part of the   business  section  and  fell asleep with a cigarette in  his hand.  Horrified  Qantas staff  were  mesmerised by  the  cigarette , the ash on which got longer and longer . It was  feared  he would  burn  a hole in their nice  new  aircraft. 

By the  time the  plane reached Hawaii  he had come to the conclusion  that he  was   the only  reporter  on  board - and  all the others  were  high flying  executives .  Feeling uncomfortable,  he apparently  stepped up the intake of  liquor .  Arriving  in mainland  America , he went missing  and  somehow  became involved with a  team of    popular  Negro    women hot gospellers, the Clare Ward  Singers .  Dressed like a  suave   hit man in O'Keefe's  clothes  , he  impressed  the  gospellers with  his  capacity  to do the twist , a rare skill  he had  acquired   which   included  a  lot  of   stomping of  the  foot .

Back in Darwin, reporter  John Loizou  at the NT News received a  garbled  telephone call from Bowditch which left him flabbergasted.  The  gist of the  story was that  Bowditch had some terrible  disease , was going into quarantine and would never be  coming back to  Australia  !  Loizou was  asked to pass this  astonishing information on  to  Betty  Bowditch . 

CAPTAIN   RITCHIE   CALLS

Flummoxed by this  call, Loizou  wondered  what to do .  However , he  did not have long to ponder the situation , because soon after   he  received another surprise telephone call - this one from   Captain Ritchie  , the  Qantas  general manager   who  dealt  with "Mr Brown " the bomb extortionist .  Captain Ritchie  was curt, precise  and  very clear.  He said ...  "Your Mr Bowditch "  had been a menace throughout the trip to America  , was now in   a Seattle motel  with  a group of Negro  hot gospellers , and   the return flight to Australia was leaving in  a short time ... If  "your   Mr Bowditch " was not  aboard  he would have to  pay his own way  home , or swim back to Darwin .    The well informed captain  gave Loizou  the  telephone of  the  said  motel.   After thanking Captain Ritchie, Loizou  quickly rang the motel ,  somehow  got  hold  of  Mr Bowditch  and passed on the  message.  Bowditch  missed the return  flight . He arrived back in Darwin with  very little  of  his  impressive  wardrobe and said  he had had  to leave  America    so  quickly his   clothes were  left  behind  at  the  drycleaners.
 

Another overseas trip  came soon after - not with Qantas-   to  see  the supersonic  Concorde.  He was so impressed  by  the Concorde  that  it was said he " fell in love with the plane".   Modern  aircraft  were now guided rockets , he declared.  While in England he saw members of his family , including brother David  who had been a  young boy  when  Jim left  England for Australia in 1937.     Somehow , under the influence ,  he  disported himself at  the old Roman  resort  of  Bath in England.  In telephone calls back to  Loizou in Darwin  he spoke of  travelling to Switzerland with somebody he had met.  Then  Loizou got  an urgent request to  send some money to Hong Kong . Loizou and  another  reporter, Dennis Booth, managed to rustle  up the money  and  wired  it  off  to Honkers .
 
BLOOD  COVERING  ARMS  HORROR

It  is not clear from  whence   Bowditch  flew back to Darwin ; mystery surrounds what happened  to  the  money urgently sent to  him in Hong Kong  as Bowditch apparently  did not  receive  the sum .  When he  rolled  off  the plane, being the last  to emerge,  he was  yelling  and refusing  to cooperate with  Customs.  After  Bowditch   shouted that he would not be searched,  airport officials said he was lucky not to be arrested and to get him  off  the premises .     Bowditch complained of seeing  blood covering his  arms and  cried  about  mutilating -  " murdering"- the  young  enemy  soldier  on  Tarakan  during  the  war . In his highly distressed  state  , he did not want to see people or go to work .  For him  not   wanting  to  work was  unusual , because he was  virtually  a workaholic  who  loved  going  to  the  newspaper   office.  

Bowditch was  involved in another  aviation  incident .   It involved   the  l972/3 flight of a  Concorde to Australia . The British Aviation Corporation   threw a  party in the Darwin  Travelodge which was attended by  a number of southern journalists. At some stage in the proceedings , the  door flew open, and there was Bowditch , who   glared  about the room . A BAC  official  standing behind a bar , wearing a cravat , dared to laugh about something  , and  Bowditch  chipped  him .  He  apologised  to Jim for   laughing .  
 

For no reason at all, Bowditch then  began to  monster the tallest man in  the room , a well known aviation  writer, mild mannered  John Stackhouse .    There was  this spectacle of   the   uncomfortable  man  towering over  Bowditch  who was  threatening physical violence, including   throwing  him from  the  balcony near the top of the hotel .  Bowditch was  lured  from his victim  by  this  writer.    A Darwin woman who worked with Bowditch  and  had seen him perform in various  pubs  and other venues   described  him as being like a  tiny  terrier dog which  on  entering a room looked for the  biggest dog   with  which it  immediately   picked a  fight. Many a person  went through the experience  of Bowditch, in his cups, threatening to  kill  them  with  one or  two  blows. NEXT :   A Royal visit, a Greek funeral  and   Bowditch  resigns.