Royal Automobile Club of Queensland
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| Motto | It Pays to belong |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1905 |
| Type | Roadside assistance, Vehicle inspection, Travel advisory |
| Headquarters | Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane. |
| Location | |
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President
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Nigel WF Alexander |
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Key people
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Bronwyn K Morris, Vice President Ian Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer Brad Bowes, Group Company Secretary Fay L. Barker, Director of North Zone Campbell J. Charlton, Director of Far North Zone Anthony (Tony) M. Gambling, Director of Central Zone Arthur J. Gearon, Director of South West Zone Elizabeth M. Jameson, Director of South East Zone Stephen J. Maitland, Director of South East Zone Karl D. Morris, Director of South East Zone Neville Ide, RACQ Insurance Limited Director Raymond Jones, RACQ Insurance Limited Director Vyn Tozer, RACQ Insurance Limited Director |
| Website | www.racq.com.au |
The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited (RACQ) is a motoring club and mutual organisation, providing roadside assistance, insurance, travel, finance and other services to its Queensland members. It is a member of the Australian Automobile Association.
The RACQ Insurance, its insurance arm, is one of the largest providers in Queensland.
Eighteen 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. Of the eighteen founding members, ten were medical practitioners.Their belief that "autos" could be a reliable means for visiting patients was used to leverage a more positive image of cars in the public consciousness.
Dr. George Hopkins was voted to be the President, and Dr. Charles Marks was the first Vice-President. One of the foundation members was a woman, Dr Lilian Violet Cooper, noting that the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria did not permit women to be members at that time.
The club received its Royal Charter in 1921. 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.
RACQ was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame in 2014.
As of 2016, The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland provides the following services:
The RACQ sponsors the Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth program (P.A.R.T.Y.) run by the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital.
In addition, the RACQ sponsors the RACQ Community Helicopter Rescue Network through its charitable trust fund.
RACQ also sponsors the All Schools Pedal Prix, RACQ Technology Challenge Maryborough, Older People Speak Out, Queensland Road Safety Awards, RACQ Historic Motoring Council Rally and RACQ Insurance International Women's Day Fun Run
Free2go is a youth program designed to help learner drivers to get their licence and includes roadside assistance. Together with the online learner logbook. Queensland learner drivers can record their required 100 hours of supervised on-road driving electronically.
The RACQ headquarters are in Eight Mile Plains, on the southside of Brisbane, with hubs at Tingalpa, Fortitude Valley, Virginia, Murarrie and Southport. Its branches are mostly owned outright, however some are franchised or contracted out, particularly in the road service division with the use of contractors outside of Brisbane.
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Wikipedia