A third act is rare in journalism but Alan Ramsey completed one of Australia’s most accomplished careers with a 21-year stint as theRamsey had already gained fame as a war correspondent and a chronicler of Australia’s march from Menzies to modernity when he took over the Saturday column from Peter Bowers in February 1987.His columns, elegant mixtures of hard-headed insight, soft-headed loyalty, anger, venom, sentimentality and grace, were loathed and loved but they were compulsive.
Two Mount Isa police beat a prisoner in a cell and he died from internal injuries a month later. Ramsey, the only reporter on the tiny mining town paper, took on the Queensland Police and local prejudice against a Sydney blow-in, riding the story hard until the police were charged with unlawful killing. In September the charges were discharged but by then Ramsey had parlayed his scoops into a job on thein Sydney before Ramsey jumped to AAP and was appointed Papua New Guinea correspondent.
AAP executive Norman Macswan flew to Vietnam to investigate and found in Ramsey’s favour and he returned to Bien Hoa. But the die was cast and he soon returned to Australia.The Australian It was an epic time in political reporting and Ramsey’s contemporaries – Alan Reid, Max Walsh, George Negus, Kerry O’Brien, Alan Barnes, Brian Johns, Ian Frykberg – all had a great time but none so much as Ramsey, whose Vietnam record and crazy brave journalism afforded immediate renown, which he happily coupled to a winning charm towards enemies and friends. He had enviable rapport with Malcolm Fraser, Andrew Peacock, Whitlam, Bill Hayden and herds of public servants.
I learnt some very valuable lessons from the work of Alan Ramsey. A big loss. Thoughts with his friends, colleagues and loved ones.
They were only a joke.
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