You’ve heard the saying: “behind every great man, is a great woman,— and this couldn’t be more true in our eyes. For a family business to be built from the ground up, it truly takes the whole family. There are some pretty incredible women behind the scenes who have paved the way for our business with their steadfast support of those at the helm. For Tammy Dunbar, WH&S Officer, it was always a case of both family and business overlapping from day dot of growing up as the youngest child of Ramsey Bros Co-Founder Lloyd and Della Ramsey.
Della (pictured with her daughters Anne, Tammy, and Terrie) provided love and support to Lloyd so that he and Fred could pursue their dream of building Ramsey Bros from the ground up, and she nurtured the family who the majority went on to work in the business themselves, before the next generation continued on.
“Mum’s focus was always on our family. She met Dad at a young age when he was working in the railways in Port Lincoln and he boarded with her family. From the very beginning, she had his back.
“Some of my earliest memories are of how busy Mum was cooking and cleaning and carrying the load at home for us six kids while dad was busily building Ramsey Bros with his brother Fred. She was meticulous and worked hard to always make sure everyone was looked after. That was very much her nature anyway but it didn’t stop outside our front door.
“I’ll never forget one of the guys who worked for Dad doing odd jobs, named Tom Wilton. Rather than cash, Tom would be paid in fuel for his Mini Minor and, most importantly, morning tea each day. He loved mum’s fruit cake so much that he’d turn up daily at smoko for a piece with a cup of tea, for years on end,— Tammy fondly remembers.
And the stamp of country hospitality didn’t stop after business hours.
“We lived in a busy house, full to the brim and the fuel station Dad and Fred owned just next door. There was always something happening, people coming and going and someone knocking on the door. It was a normal day when a customer knocked on our front door to chase a spare part, or needing fuel in the middle of the night, and Mum often helped them with their needs.
“I remember Dad would come home and announce a new employee had been signed on, before he’d add, ‘Have we got room for one more?’. For months at a time, Ramsey Bros’ latest employees would come and live with our family until they got settled in town. Mum would do all their washing and ironing and cooking and look after them, just like they were one of us. These days, it’d be unheard of to have your staff coming to live in your family home, but back then, it was how things were done and a real sign of the country hospitality that still runs strongly through our business.
“I think Mum’s dedication to our family life and the extension of that to the business had a huge impact on laying the foundation for a close-knit team that ran the early years of Ramsey Bros. I know there are many other women behind the scenes who have made it possible for this business, not only to grow, but to develop the kinds of relationships it takes to have a business thriving 70 years down the track.—