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{{Short description|Newspaper journalist and editor in the Northern Territory}} |
{{Short description|Newspaper journalist and editor in the Northern Territory}} |
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{{Use Australian English|date=November 2023}} |
{{Use Australian English|date=November 2023}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}} |
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[[File:Jim_Bowditch,_former_Editor_of_the_NT_News.tif|thumb|Jim Bowditch, photo taken by ABC TV]] |
[[File:Jim_Bowditch,_former_Editor_of_the_NT_News.tif|thumb|Jim Bowditch, photo taken by ABC TV]] |
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'''James''' "'''Jim'''" '''Bowditch''', (1919–1996) was an Australian [[newspaper editor]] who worked for the [[ |
'''James''' "'''Jim'''" '''Bowditch''', (1919–1996) was an Australian [[newspaper editor]] who worked for the [[Alice Springs]]-based ''[[Centralian Advocate]]'' from 1950 to 1954 and the [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]]-based ''[[Northern Territory News]]'' from 1954 to 1973. |
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During his editorial career Bowditch campaigned for Aboriginal rights and a better deal for the [[Northern Territory]] from [[Parliament of Australia|Canberra]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Carment |first=David Edward |title=Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography |url=https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/492231 |access-date=2023-11-21 |website=Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography}}</ref> |
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⚫ | Bowditch was born in [[London]] |
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⚫ | Bowditch was born in [[London]], part of a working class family and one of five children. He left school aged 14 to support his family through the [[Great Depression]] and, aged 17, worked his passage to [[Australia]] on ''Port Dunedin'' in order to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming a farmer.<ref name=":0" /> |
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⚫ | Once in Australia he worked on a number of farms in New South Wales and Queensland, before moving to [[Wellington, New South Wales]] to search for gold. This venture was unsuccessful and he was soon forced to apply for a travelling dole scheme which required him to move from town-to-town in order to receive benefits.<ref name=":0" /> |
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⚫ | At the outbreak of [[World War II]] |
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⚫ | At the outbreak of [[World War II]] Bowditch joined the [[Australian Army]] and served in [[North Africa campaign|North Africa]] and [[New Guinea campaign|New Guinea]] (as a part of the Second Ninth Infantry Battalion) before joining the special sabotage and spy unit, [[Z Special Unit|‘Z’ Special Force]]. His experience within this unit won him a [[Distinguished Conduct Medal]] and a number of citations for bravery. His second wife Betty Bowditch would later state that her husband "did not talk about the war, but would stay up late, at times drinking while battling his war demons".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-04-01 |title=Behind enemy lines: The hidden stories of Australia's Z Force |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-04-02/z-force-hidden-stories-of-australian-guerilla-soldiers-exhibit/9536616 |access-date=2023-11-22}}</ref> |
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After the war Jim took on a number of roles, including as a door-to-door salesman and lighthouse keeper in [[Moreton Island]].<ref name=":0" /> |
After the war Jim took on a number of roles, including as a door-to-door salesman and lighthouse keeper in [[Moreton Island]].<ref name=":0" /> |
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== Life in the Northern Territory == |
== Life in the Northern Territory == |
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In 1948, Bowditch moved to [[Alice Springs]] and, |
In 1948, Bowditch moved to [[Alice Springs]] and, planning to take up land under the government’s [[Soldier settlement (Australia)|soldiers’ settlement scheme]], which never eventuated.<ref name=":0" /> |
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⚫ | Soon however, while working |
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⚫ | Soon however, while working as a paymaster for the [[Department of Works and Housing]], Bowditch started writing articles for the ''Centralian Advocate'' and for a number of ‘southern’ newspapers. He also became a part of life in the town, which then had a population of 2000, where he took part in cricket, amateur theatricals, debating, politics, union affairs and chess competitions. Bowditch also became secretary of the Alice Springs section of the South Australian branch of the [[Federated Clerks' Union of Australia|Federated Clerks’ Union]] and wrote for its newspaper ''The Clerk'' under the byline "Doop the Snoop".<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Club |first=Melbourne Press |title=Jim Bowditch |url=https://halloffame.melbournepressclub.com/article/jim-bowditch |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=MPC - Hall Of Fame |language=en}}</ref> |
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Because of his political and union involvement, Bowditch soon came under the scrutiny of [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] as a possible communist and this investigation, in part, broke up his marriage with his first wife Iris. |
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Despite this, |
Due to his political and union involvement, Bowditch soon came under the scrutiny of [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] as a possible communist, and this investigation, in part, broke up his marriage with his first wife Iris.<ref name=":0" /> Despite this, Bowditch so impressed the manager of the ''Centralian Advocate'' that, despite his lack of experience, Bowditch was appointed editor in 1950,<ref>{{Cite web |last=james |first=barbara;davis |title=Historical introduction to Northern Territory newspapers |url=https://territorystories.nt.gov.au/10070/460147 |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Historical introduction to Northern Territory newspapers}}</ref> taking over from Alan Wauchope.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=23 May 2017 |title=A bloke names Jim: last of Australia's crusading editors |work=Centralian Advocate}}</ref> At this point Bowditch was unable to type and taught himself via a three fingered method which became a trademark of his.<ref name=":0" /> As editor Bowditch fought for the recognition of “part-Aboriginal” people as citizens, later including all Aboriginal people in this goal, and raised concerns about police corruption that led to threats of violence being made towards him. |
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Bowditch was moved to a posting in Darwin, at the ''[[Northern Territory News]]'', after a doctored image purportedly showing a UFO sighting was published in the ''Centralian'' as an [[April Fools' Day]] joke.<ref>{{cite news |date=5 February 1954 |title="Unknown" Claims Snapped Flying Saucer Over Alice. |volume=VII |page=1 |newspaper=[[Centralian Advocate]] |issue=348 |location=Northern Territory, Australia |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article65168451 |access-date=22 November 2023 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> The image was created using a photo of a household cup saucer, hanging by a piece of cotton from a tree, with a view of Mount Gillen. Bowditch claimed the image had been slipped under his front door.<ref name=":2" /> This resulted in international headlines and official investigation by the [[Royal Australian Air Force]]. This would become a long-running tradition for the paper.<ref>{{Citation |author1=Griffen-Foley, Bridget |title=A Companion to the Australian Media |publication-date=2014 |publisher=Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty, Limited |isbn=978-1-922454-32-4 |author2=Griffen-Foley, Bridget |author3=ProQuest (Firm)}}</ref> |
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Bowditch moved to Darwin with his new wife Betty, an Aboriginal women he had met in Alice Springs. He was a staunch defender of interracial relationships at a time they were heavily policed throughout the Territory.<ref name=":2" /> In 1959 Bowditch acted in support of [[Mick Daly and Gladys Namagu]], an interracial couple seeking to marry, and wrote about the extensively about them in the ''NT News'' and spoke on behalf of them in the [[Northern Territory Legislative Council]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Illegal love: Is this NT couple Australia's Richard and Mildred Loving? |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/illegal-love-is-this-nt-couple-australias-richard-and-mildred-loving/8m7tk3fm4 |access-date=2024-03-15 |website=NITV |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Robyn |date=2017-07-15 |title=The mean machine |work=[[Northern Territory News]] |pages=20}}</ref> |
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In Darwin Jim continued to be an advocate for social justice, ‘rattle chains’ and become a subject of the news himself. Soon circulation almost doubled and, in 1959, he won a [[Walkley Awards|Walkley Award]] for ‘Best Provincial Newspaper Story’ for his report of the search and rescue mission for the luxury yacht the Sea Fox which included a chain-smoking chimp called “[[Jimmy the Chimp]]” as a crew member.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cyclops |date=2014-01-24 |title=Little Darwin: The Incredible Sea Fox Saga – Continuing biog of Crusading Editor, "Big Jim" Bowditch |url=https://littledarwin.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-incredible-sea-fox-saga-continuing.html |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Little Darwin}}</ref> |
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Bowditch’s time at the NT News ended abruptly in 1972 after an editorial of his, about the death of the |
In Darwin Bowditch continued to be an advocate for social justice, to ‘rattle chains’ and become a subject of the news himself. Soon circulation almost doubled and, in 1959, Bowditch won a [[Walkley Awards|Walkley Award]] for "Best Provincial Newspaper Story" for his report of the search and rescue mission for the luxury yacht the ''Sea Fox'' which included a chain-smoking chimp called “[[Jimmy the Chimp]]” as a crew member.<ref name=":3" /> Bowditch’s time at the ''NT News'' ended abruptly in 1972 after an editorial of his, about the death of the Territory's richest man Michael Paspalis, was pulled and a new editor appointed. This was due, in large part, to his failure to follow the conservative editorial policy of the ''NT News'' after it was purchased by [[Rupert Murdoch]] in 1964. This led to a two-week strike by staff and an industrial arbitration hearing.<ref name=":3" /> |
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In 1980 Bowditch began working for the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] as a reporter for 'Territory Tracks' and contributed to the Darwin |
In 1980 Bowditch began working for the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|Australian Broadcasting Commission]] (ABC) as a reporter for ''Territory Tracks'' and contributed to the ''Darwin Advertiser'' and ''Star'' newspapers. After these newspapers closed in the late-1980s Bowditch would once again contribute to the ''NT News'' where he wrote feature articles on Northern Territory personalities. In the 1980s he also helped mobilise support for an enquiry into the conviction of [[Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton|Lindy Chamberlain]]. He retired from journalism in 1988.<ref name=":0" /> |
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In 1993 Bowditch published a book, illustrated by Tony Dean, called Whispers from the North: tales of the Northern Territory.<ref>{{Citation |author1=Bowditch, Jim |title=Whispers from the North |publication-date=1993 |publisher=NTU Press |isbn=978-0-949070-31-9 |author2=Dean, Tony (Anthony)}}</ref> |
In 1993 Bowditch published a book, illustrated by Tony Dean, called ''Whispers from the North: tales of the Northern Territory''.<ref>{{Citation |author1=Bowditch, Jim |title=Whispers from the North |publication-date=1993 |publisher=NTU Press |isbn=978-0-949070-31-9 |author2=Dean, Tony (Anthony)}}</ref> |
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Bowditch died in Darwin in 1996 and is buried at Thorak Regional Cemetery.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Place Names Register |url=https://www.ntlis.nt.gov.au/placenames/view.jsp?id=24281 |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=www.ntlis.nt.gov.au}}</ref> |
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== Works about == |
== Works about == |
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Powell, A. (2018) |
* [[Alan Powell (historian)|Powell, A]]. (2018) "Sergeant James "Jim" Bowditch - a memory of World War 2", ''Northern Territory Historical Studies'', (29), 80–83.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Powell |first=Alan |date=2018 |title=Sergeant James 'Jim' Bowditch - a memory of World War 2 |url=https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/ielapa.697480771143663 |journal=Northern Territory Historical Studies |issue=29 |pages=80–83 |via=Informit}}</ref> |
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== Legacy == |
== Legacy == |
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Bowdich was inducted into the Journalism Hall of Fame in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Banks |first=Kieran |date=17 November 2018 |title=Legendary NT News editor Jim Bowditch inducted into journalism hall of fame |work=NT News |url=https://www.ntnews.com.au/lifestyle/legendary-nt-news-editor-jim-bowditch-inducted-into-journalism-hall-of-fame/news-story/901dcf814134e8afc630f8d7cc3ba8ff |access-date=22 November 2023}}</ref> |
Bowdich was inducted into the Journalism Hall of Fame in 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Banks |first=Kieran |date=17 November 2018 |title=Legendary NT News editor Jim Bowditch inducted into journalism hall of fame |work=NT News |url=https://www.ntnews.com.au/lifestyle/legendary-nt-news-editor-jim-bowditch-inducted-into-journalism-hall-of-fame/news-story/901dcf814134e8afc630f8d7cc3ba8ff |access-date=22 November 2023}}</ref> |
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Bowditch Street in Muirhead is named for him.<ref name=":1" /> |
Bowditch Street in [[Muirhead, Northern Territory|Muirhead]] is named for him.<ref name=":1" /> |
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== References == |
== References == |
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[[Category:People from Alice Springs]] |
[[Category:People from Alice Springs]] |
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[[Category:Journalists from the Northern Territory]] |
[[Category:Journalists from the Northern Territory]] |
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[[Category:Australian newspaper editors]] |
Latest revision as of 06:06, 18 March 2024
James "Jim" Bowditch, (1919–1996) was an Australian newspaper editor who worked for the Alice Springs-based Centralian Advocate from 1950 to 1954 and the Darwin-based Northern Territory News from 1954 to 1973.
During his editorial career Bowditch campaigned for Aboriginal rights and a better deal for the Northern Territory from Canberra.[1]
Early life
Bowditch was born in London, part of a working class family and one of five children. He left school aged 14 to support his family through the Great Depression and, aged 17, worked his passage to Australia on Port Dunedin in order to fulfil his childhood dream of becoming a farmer.[1]
Once in Australia he worked on a number of farms in New South Wales and Queensland, before moving to Wellington, New South Wales to search for gold. This venture was unsuccessful and he was soon forced to apply for a travelling dole scheme which required him to move from town-to-town in order to receive benefits.[1]
At the outbreak of World War II Bowditch joined the Australian Army and served in North Africa and New Guinea (as a part of the Second Ninth Infantry Battalion) before joining the special sabotage and spy unit, ‘Z’ Special Force. His experience within this unit won him a Distinguished Conduct Medal and a number of citations for bravery. His second wife Betty Bowditch would later state that her husband "did not talk about the war, but would stay up late, at times drinking while battling his war demons".[2]
After the war Jim took on a number of roles, including as a door-to-door salesman and lighthouse keeper in Moreton Island.[1]
Life in the Northern Territory
In 1948, Bowditch moved to Alice Springs and, planning to take up land under the government’s soldiers’ settlement scheme, which never eventuated.[1]
Soon however, while working as a paymaster for the Department of Works and Housing, Bowditch started writing articles for the Centralian Advocate and for a number of ‘southern’ newspapers. He also became a part of life in the town, which then had a population of 2000, where he took part in cricket, amateur theatricals, debating, politics, union affairs and chess competitions. Bowditch also became secretary of the Alice Springs section of the South Australian branch of the Federated Clerks’ Union and wrote for its newspaper The Clerk under the byline "Doop the Snoop".[3]
Due to his political and union involvement, Bowditch soon came under the scrutiny of Australian Security Intelligence Organisation as a possible communist, and this investigation, in part, broke up his marriage with his first wife Iris.[1] Despite this, Bowditch so impressed the manager of the Centralian Advocate that, despite his lack of experience, Bowditch was appointed editor in 1950,[4] taking over from Alan Wauchope.[5] At this point Bowditch was unable to type and taught himself via a three fingered method which became a trademark of his.[1] As editor Bowditch fought for the recognition of “part-Aboriginal” people as citizens, later including all Aboriginal people in this goal, and raised concerns about police corruption that led to threats of violence being made towards him.
Bowditch was moved to a posting in Darwin, at the Northern Territory News, after a doctored image purportedly showing a UFO sighting was published in the Centralian as an April Fools' Day joke.[6] The image was created using a photo of a household cup saucer, hanging by a piece of cotton from a tree, with a view of Mount Gillen. Bowditch claimed the image had been slipped under his front door.[5] This resulted in international headlines and official investigation by the Royal Australian Air Force. This would become a long-running tradition for the paper.[7]
Bowditch moved to Darwin with his new wife Betty, an Aboriginal women he had met in Alice Springs. He was a staunch defender of interracial relationships at a time they were heavily policed throughout the Territory.[5] In 1959 Bowditch acted in support of Mick Daly and Gladys Namagu, an interracial couple seeking to marry, and wrote about the extensively about them in the NT News and spoke on behalf of them in the Northern Territory Legislative Council.[8][9]
In Darwin Bowditch continued to be an advocate for social justice, to ‘rattle chains’ and become a subject of the news himself. Soon circulation almost doubled and, in 1959, Bowditch won a Walkley Award for "Best Provincial Newspaper Story" for his report of the search and rescue mission for the luxury yacht the Sea Fox which included a chain-smoking chimp called “Jimmy the Chimp” as a crew member.[3] Bowditch’s time at the NT News ended abruptly in 1972 after an editorial of his, about the death of the Territory's richest man Michael Paspalis, was pulled and a new editor appointed. This was due, in large part, to his failure to follow the conservative editorial policy of the NT News after it was purchased by Rupert Murdoch in 1964. This led to a two-week strike by staff and an industrial arbitration hearing.[3]
In 1980 Bowditch began working for the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) as a reporter for Territory Tracks and contributed to the Darwin Advertiser and Star newspapers. After these newspapers closed in the late-1980s Bowditch would once again contribute to the NT News where he wrote feature articles on Northern Territory personalities. In the 1980s he also helped mobilise support for an enquiry into the conviction of Lindy Chamberlain. He retired from journalism in 1988.[1]
In 1993 Bowditch published a book, illustrated by Tony Dean, called Whispers from the North: tales of the Northern Territory.[10]
Bowditch died in Darwin in 1996 and is buried at Thorak Regional Cemetery.[11]
Works about
- Powell, A. (2018) "Sergeant James "Jim" Bowditch - a memory of World War 2", Northern Territory Historical Studies, (29), 80–83.[12]
Legacy
Bowdich was inducted into the Journalism Hall of Fame in 2018.[13]
Bowditch Street in Muirhead is named for him.[11]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Carment, David Edward. "Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography". Northern Territory Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ "Behind enemy lines: The hidden stories of Australia's Z Force". ABC News. 1 April 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ a b c Club, Melbourne Press. "Jim Bowditch". MPC - Hall Of Fame. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ james, barbara;davis. "Historical introduction to Northern Territory newspapers". Historical introduction to Northern Territory newspapers. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c "A bloke names Jim: last of Australia's crusading editors". Centralian Advocate. 23 May 2017.
- ^ ""Unknown" Claims Snapped Flying Saucer Over Alice". Centralian Advocate. Vol. VII, no. 348. Northern Territory, Australia. 5 February 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 22 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Griffen-Foley, Bridget; Griffen-Foley, Bridget; ProQuest (Firm) (2014), A Companion to the Australian Media, Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty, Limited, ISBN 978-1-922454-32-4
- ^ "Illegal love: Is this NT couple Australia's Richard and Mildred Loving?". NITV. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ Smith, Robyn (15 July 2017). "The mean machine". Northern Territory News. p. 20.
- ^ Bowditch, Jim; Dean, Tony (Anthony) (1993), Whispers from the North, NTU Press, ISBN 978-0-949070-31-9
- ^ a b "Place Names Register". www.ntlis.nt.gov.au. Retrieved 22 November 2023.
- ^ Powell, Alan (2018). "Sergeant James 'Jim' Bowditch - a memory of World War 2". Northern Territory Historical Studies (29): 80–83 – via Informit.
- ^ Banks, Kieran (17 November 2018). "Legendary NT News editor Jim Bowditch inducted into journalism hall of fame". NT News. Retrieved 22 November 2023.