McGowan first made a name for himself in Perth at 6PR in the mid-1960s, where he and his station, then known as The Home of the Good Guys rose to the top of the ratings.

Regular contributors were Brad Higgins, Nick Le Souef the "Outback Legend" and Chris DeFraga on motoring.

[8] In the 1960s McGowan hosted a show called Teen Time On Ten on regional Victorian television station GLV-10.

[9] In 1979 McGowan had a top ten hit in Australia with a narrative piece called A Little Boy's Christmas Prayer which has since been re–released on compilation CDs.

[11] McGowan bred and raced standard-bred (harness) horses[12] and travelled extensively throughout Australia, particularly in the outback.

[1][2][14] McGowan was recognised in the 2014 Queen's Birthday Honours with an OAM for his service to broadcast media spanning 54 years.