When journalist Peter Blake was holidaying in Sydney from the NT News about the end of l962 he met up with a friend he knew from l954 in Brisbane - James Arthur Ramsay - affectionately known as “the Evil One ”. Ramsay was at a loose end at the time. A sportswriter, and a good one at that , it was said he was banned from future employment on any News Limited publication because of something he had written which had offended the brilliant Australian international golfer, Peter Thomson . Thomson had a close association with News Limited which ran the Peter Thomson Golfing Clinic in its publications.
On hearing that Blake was about to return to Darwin to resume
working on the NT News,
Ramsay asked if there might
be a job for him
in the Territory. Blake, a good
all round journalist with a
flair for Runyonesque-like description, friend of
bookies ( married to a bookie’s
daughter ) , and a keen fisherman , rang
Bowditch . While billing Ramsay as the best sports writer in Australia , Blake did
admit he had one or two
problems. One , of course , was that Ramsay was
on the so-called News Limited “ leper list ”. When told of
this impediment , Bowditch was at first a little dubious as the paper was part of the Murdoch chain .
However, noted for helping strays and outcasts , he relented and said the difficulty
could easily be overcome by
spelling his name differently
in by-lines ; Darwin being a long way from Sydney, nobody would surely twig.
INSTRUCTED TO SACK THIS SUSPICIOUS JIM
Instead of James Ramsay, he became Jim
Ramsie. Blake and Ramsay, alias
Ramsie , duly arrived in Darwin.
The very first time the by-line
Jim Ramsie appeared on a story in the
News there was a response from Sydney. Is that
THE James Ramsay ?, Bowditch was asked. Bowditch parried such questions by saying it was obviously another person with
a similar name.
One caller would not be put off , and firmly
ordered, “ Sack him.” Bowditch did
not follow instructions . The questions continued from Sydney . Bowditch
was asked to send a photograph of this suspicious Ramsie , but somehow never got round to sending a mug shot. The bloodhounds kept sniffing.
Though Ramsay often appeared
grubby and his shirt adorned with
a few stains from drinking sessions and sartee
sauce, he was indeed
“ dynamite ” as a sportswriter.
Darwin was a free and easy place in those days, but Ramsay was more so and a
mite greasy as well . Well-dressed
people attending a football club’s presentation
night complained when Ramsay ,
who had been drinking all day, turned up to cover the event for the News wearing a grubby singlet, no shirt , and a tie. A
woman who did his washing stopped doing so because his
clothes were always in a filthy
state. Ramsay put the ends of
newsprint rolls to good use- he took them home and used
the paper as bath towels. When it came to tropical hygiene, Ramsay had a
special way of preventing the
spread of germs from
eating utensils: he put all the dirty dishes in the frig to
prevent the growth of microbal nasties
. Of course, opening the frig could
result in a cascade of contents which
would produce a mess that
would gladden the heart of a surrealist artist.
BROKE THE BANK
Ramsay and Peter Blake
attended a two storey gambling joint one
night . Blake lost all his money ,
but Ramsay, running hot , won so much
money the crown and anchor school
closed down because he cleaned out the bank. Ramsay then
went upstairs with his big bankroll and began playing sarlang , a card game , and lost the lot .
Finally, a
Brisbane based News
executive who would later clash with
Bowditch in Mount Isa , came
to Darwin and demanded to see Ramsay . Bowditch warned
Ramsay about the looming face to face meeting . Jim advised
Ramsay to keep his cool, be pleasant
and something might be
worked out to keep
him on staff .
In a voice
both angry and nervous, the executive told Ramsay that Bowditch
had stuck his neck out by employing him and could
even have been fired
himself for so
doing . Ramsay’s response clearly indicated he was not destined for a brilliant career in the diplomatic service
. Instead of being contrite and demure, characteristics not
usually attributed to him , Ramsay responded by saying the News could stick his job “ up
your black arse. ”
Furthermore, he announced
he was starting his own paper in town and would
take some of the best NT News tradesmen with him and give the paper a run for its money . Needless to say , he ceased working for the
NT News forthwith -if not sooner. NEXT: The Bishop and the topless girl.
