Ferris Brothers Pty Ltd.

Ferris was started by "Chum" William Malcolm Ferris in 1934.

Chum started off making consols, then in 1934 his brother George joined him. They established the name Ferris Brothers, and began making car radios.

During the war, when radio manufacture was stopped in favor of  war production, Ferris Brothers manufactured gas units for cars. 

Following the war the company focused successfuly on car radios. They even made a record player named the Caradio Gram. (1961-1964) This according to J.R. Publications Transistor Radio Service Handbook (Supplement to Vol. 1, 1960, Page F5.) was fitted to a bracket under the dash, and came out to sit on the seat for playing records.

Other inovative designs were the the "gutter grip" car arial, and an antenae for television reception on boats that automatically kept the antenae aligned to the television station.

They also made boat trailers, golf buggies, and model trains. 

In the late 1950s Ferris Bros. dabled in television recievers. However, their core bisness was car radios and radio equipment for buses and trucks.

By the late 1960s they saw the writing on the wall and sold the company to the "Hawker Siddeley" group.

The brand name still ocassonally turns up on Chinese manufactured electronics. 

The radio below is the Ferris Gemini "Hi Fidelity" 8 Transistor. Model 207. It's from around 1964.

It features two 3x4 inch Rola speakers. These were designed for use in televisions. These had FM sound.

Cabinets had Brown, Green or possibly other colored backs. These were possibly made by AWA as the construction is very similar to the B15.

The radio runs on AC/DC. The power supply is very similar to that used in the Philips Philidephia etc.

I bought my unit in a Ballarat antique (junk) shop about 2009. It works and has been recapped in the past with less than good quality components.

Seven Transistor Portable Car Radio M144 

This is a basic car/porable radio. It apparently came with a "gutter grip" arial.

Page created 18 August 2010