Dowling's earliest published stories were "Illusion of Motion" and "Oriental on the Murder Express", both published in "Enigma", the magazine of SUSFA, the Sydney University SF Society, and "Shade of Encounter" in the second issue of "Science Fiction": A Review of Speculative Literature, on which Dowling became assistant editor and short-notice book-reviewer and eventually co-editor (with Van Ikin). Dowling did critical work and continued to play with bands – Temenos (rock band, 1970–72); Gestalt (acoustic band, 1972–75) after taking a teaching position at a Sydney business college. At least one of his rock bands used to play for the patients at a mental hospital at Bedlam Point, near his home – a source for 'Cape Bedlam', location of the Madhouse in the "Tom Rynosseros" cycle.