The Royal Automobile Club of Australia (RACA) is an Australian motoring organisation, which has also incorporated the Australian Imperial Services Club since 1987. The RACA was established in March 1903 in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, and is the oldest motoring club in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

, founded by Henry Alfred ‘Harrie’ Skinner, WE Fisher and HE Jones. The organisation also advocated for specific localised issues for motorists in Sydney. The Royal Automobile Club of Australia had an important role in shaping early motoring legislation, in safeguarding the rights of motorists, and in establishing

motorsport in Australia Motorsport is a popular spectator sport in Australia, although there are relatively few competitors compared to other sports due to the high costs of competing. The oldest motorsport competition in Australia is the Alpine Rally which was fir ...

. In the 1920s and 1930s it was involved in organising hill climbing races, and similar events in New South Wales. Most states of Australia have organisations named ''Royal Automobile Club'' with the state names added:

Royal Automobile Club of Queensland The Royal Automobile Club of Queensland Limited (RACQ) is a mutual organisation and Queensland's largest club (by membership), providing services including roadside assistance, insurance, banking and travel to its approximately 1.7 million m ...

Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania The Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania normally abbreviated to RACT is a motoring club in Tasmania, Australia. The organisation was established as the Royal Autocar Club of Tasmania in 1923 by R. J. Shield and Col. A. P. Crisp. The club now has ...

Royal Automobile Club of Victoria The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) is a motoring club and mutual organisation. It offers various services to members, including insurance and roadside assistance. It has about 30,000 ordinary club members and 2.1 million service ...

Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia The Royal Automobile Club of Western Australia (RAC WA) is a motoring club and mutual organisation, offering motoring services and advice, insurance, travel services, finance, driver training and exclusive benefits for their members. As an indep ...

. The organisation used to provide roadside service and insurance but in 1945 in an agreement with the

NRMA The NRMA (trading name of National Roads and Motorists' Association) is an Australian organisation offering roadside assistance, advocacy for motorists and road-users, motoring advice, car servicing, International Driving Permits, travel, and ...

ceased offering these services with members gaining reciprocal access to NRMA provided services. The RACA is a member of the

Australian Automobile Association The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) is an Australian motoring organisation that lobbies for road users across Australia. This includes advocating for the safe maintenance of land transport networks and increasing transport affordability ...

History

Original office bearers

The first office bearers of the Royal Automobile Club of Australia (RACA), in 1903, were: *President: HA Jones *First Vice President: James Macken *Second Vie President: Dr C McCarthy *Third Vice President:

Harrie Skinner Henry Alfred 'Harrie Skinner (July 12, 1854 – October 1936) was the founder of the Royal Automobile Club of Australia (RACA). He was a photographic pioneer and was a manager of a circus. Early life Skinner was born in England on 12 July 18 ...

*Fourth Vice President: Harry Vale *Hon Treasurer: George Lane *Hon Secretary: WE Fisher *Consulting Engineer: AJ Knowles

Past presidents

* HA Jones (1903–1908) * S Horden Sr. (1908–1909) * GF Todman (1909–1910) * Sir

Samuel Hordern Sir Samuel Hordern (24 September 1876 – 3 June 1956) was an Australian businessman, animal breeder and philanthropist. Born into the prominent Sydney trading family, Hordern directed the family company of Anthony Hordern & Sons from 1909 ...

, KBE (1910–1912, 1914–1930) * Colonel JM Arnott (1912–1914) * PA Oatley (1930–1936) * WJ Bradley QC BA LLB (1936–1937) * Sir John Butters, KB CMG MBE VD (1937–1949) * H Scougall (1949–1956) * HA Fisher-Webster BA (Oxon) (1956–1967) * GW Cutts (1967–1970) * AF Bode FCA (1970–1973) * JO Sherwood MBE (1973–1982) * BV Clifton (1982–1987) * RG Wagland (1987–1992) * BD Kelly (1992–1997) * HE Nicholls (1997–1998) * BJ Fisher (1998–2003) * G. Thomas (2003–2016) * M. Callanan (2016–2021) * M. Lavender (2021–2022) * R. Armitage (2023–2023) * Dr P. Myers (2023–2024) * David Moloney (2024–present)

References

External links

Homepage of the RACA
{{Coord, -33.8618, 151.2128, type:landmark_region:AU-NSW, display=title Automobile Club of Australia, Royal Automobile associations in Australia Motorsport governing bodies in Australia Clubs and societies in Australia 1903 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1903 Organisations based in Sydney Gentlemen's clubs in Australia Buildings and structures in Sydney

History

Original office bearers

Past presidents

See also

References

External links