[1] The family prospered in Victoria; Ramsay's father, John, was a die-sinker and engraver in Scotland, however he became a successful real estate broker in his adopted homeland.
After a trip to New Zealand, where he met and married Annie Elizabeth Meek in Oamaru on 2 January 1901, Ramsay established a factory in Carlton in partnership with Hamilton McKellar.
The polish, which would become successful in Australia within a few years, was named in honour of Annie Ramsay's New Zealand heritage.
In 1912, after McKellar had left the company, Ramsay's father established a branch of Kiwi Polish Co. in London.
[1] His younger son, Sir Thomas Meek Ramsay[2] (b.1907)[1] graduated in science at the University of Melbourne[3] and joined the company as consulting chemist in 1926.