Royal Automobile Club of Queensland

Infobox Organization
name = The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited

---

size = 201px
motto = Wouldn't be without them
formation = 1905
type = Roadside assistance, Vehicle inspection, Travel advisory
headquarters =
location = flagicon|AUS Queensland, Australia
membership =
leader_title = President
leader_name = Richard Pietsch
key_people = Geoffrey Leddy, Deputy President
Ian Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer and Secretary
num_staff =
budget =
website = [http://www.racq.com.au/ www.racq.com.au]

The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited (RACQ) is a motoring club and mutual organisation, providing roadside assistance, insurance and other services to its Queensland members. It is a member of the Australian Automobile Association.

RACQ Insurance, its insurance arm, is a 50:50 joint venture with financial institution Suncorp.

History

Twelve motorists formed the Automobile Club of Queensland in 1905 at a meeting of “almost all the motorists in Brisbane” which was held at the School of Arts, in Ann Street. The club received its Royal Charter in 1921. [cite web | title = Question: What does RACQ stand for? | work = FAQs | publisher = The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited | date = | url = http://www.racq.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/racq_cms_production/hs.xsl/FAQ_Foun_faq_racqinitials_ENA_HTML.html| format = HTML | accessdate = 2007-06-29 ] The club was formed as an advocacy group, styled after the successful Royal Automobile club of the United Kingdom. At the time of formation there were only 16 registered privately owned motor cars in the whole of Queensland. cite web|url=http://www.govhouse.qld.gov.au/news_media/racq.asp |title=GovernorRACQ speech |accessdate=2008-04-15 ]

Eighteen local motorists eventually agreed to be foundation members. Half were doctors – a good indication of their comparative affluence – and their belief that ‘autos’ could be a reliable means for visiting patients.

Dr. George Hopkins was voted president, and Dr. Charles Marks was the first vice-president. cite web|url=http://www.racq.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/racq_cms_production/hs.xsl/mem_roadahead_200502getahorse_ENA_HTML.htm |title=travel in 1900Get a Horse |accessdate=2008-04-15 ]

One of the clubs first publicity campaigns “urged farmers to stop placing logs and other obstacles on roads, blocking the progress of the "infernal contraptions" they feared would frighten their cows out of milking.”

In 2005, RACQ celebrated 100 years of service.

Sponsorship

The RACQ sponsors the Litter Prevention Award in the Ergon Energy Tidy Towns competition. cite web|url=http://www.keepaustraliabeautiful.org.au/qld/01_cms/details.asp?ID=74 |title=RACQ Sponsorship |accessdate=2008-04-15 ]

Locations

The RACQ headquarters are in Eight Mile Plains, on the southside of Brisbane, with hubs at Tingalpa, Fortitude Valley, Murarrie and Southport.

Its branches are mostly owned outright, however some are franchised or contracted out. This particularly true of the road service division, which uses contractors outside of Brisbane.

On 29 August 2006, RACQ officially launched a new mobile branch that functions as an ordinary branch, and be used for exhibitions, trade shows and to assist in large-scale disasters in helping communities get their claims processed quicker and back on their feet again sooner.

References

External links

* [http://www.racq.com.au/ RACQ]
* [http://www.racqinsurance.com.au RACQ Insurance]