There’s no doubt that Fred Ramsey left a legacy. Alongside his brother, Lloyd, Fred founded Ramsey Bros — sowing the seeds for where we are today. We lost Fred on 18 October 1981, so this week we’re enjoying a beer in his honour. We caught up with Director Eddy Ward for a chat about his memories of this unforgettable man.
“Fred and Lloyd were pretty different characters. Lloyd seemed a little more serious, making sure everything was happening, while Fred was larger than life, a very social man and he sure loved a beer. He was known as a wheeler and a dealer — it wasn’t strange for him to strike up a deal, but every now and then, it was bigger than we’d expected.
“I’ll never forget in the seventies when Fred came home from a business meeting with Dalgety Trading company — they were wholesalers for electrical appliances. As it turns out, they happened to be agents for alcohol, too— Eddy begins.
“We had a quick de-brief when Fred came home, when he asked whether we liked XXXX beer. At the time, it was a popular beer in Queensland but almost unheard of in South Australia. As it turns out, his curiosity was actually him softening us up for the arrival of our semi-trailer which had some XXXX beer on board. 10 pallets of it, in fact! Now, 10 pallets containing 20 cartons with 24 cans is a lot of beer when you don’t even know if you like it or not,— Eddy chuckles.
“Luckily for him, we didn’t mind it and collectively, we managed to get through all 4,800 cans in pretty good time. Price was never discussed, but I’m sure Fred’s negotiating skills would have played a part!—
And big purchases on a whim were certainly not uncommon when it came to Fred, as Eddy tells us.
“In about 1970, we were in Whyalla at a big expo for electrical goods. There were major retailers there, but one poor rep wasn’t getting much notice and he was feeling the pinch. That’s when Fred swooped in and told the guy not to worry about packing up all his unsold goods — he bought it all, right there and then. So, we loaded up our semi-trailer and cleared it out.
“Well, it was perfectly timed by Fred. We’d just got power in the district and every house in the area was after a washing machine, fridge, toaster, kettle, iron … you name it. The rep who’d sold it to us had to manually write up all the invoices which took months — by the time we received the bills, we’d sold the lot!— Eddy remembers.
“It’s those stories that pop up when I think of Fred. At six foot-four, he was a big character, with an even bigger heart. He was happy-go-lucky — a gentle giant.—