Royal Automobile Association

Motor club in Australia

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Royal Automobile Association of South Australia

Formation| 1903; 122 years ago (1903)
Type| Roadside Assistance, Vehicle Inspection, Travel, Insurance, Child Safety Centre
Headquarters| RAA Place, Adelaide
Location|

* South Australia, Australia

Locations|

* (Metro) Adelaide, Mile End South, Elizabeth, Marion, Modbury, Morphett Vale, West Lakes

Membership| Approximately 800,000

President

| Kathy Gramp
Staff| 1200+
Website| raa.com.au

The Royal Automobile Association of South Australia (RAA) is an Australian motor club that provides services to members, including 24-hour emergency breakdown assistance, vehicle inspection services, insurance services, and a range of additional member benefits.[1]

The RAA operates its services on a break-even basis, while generating profit through its commercial and investment activities.[2]

The RAA originated as the Automobile and Motor Cycling Club of South Australia in 1903.[1] In 1904, the name was amended by removing the words "Motor Cycling." The club was reconstituted as an association in 1911, and received Royal patronage in 1928. In 1959, the association changed its logo from AA of SA to RAA.[3]

The head office of the Royal Automobile Association is located at RAA Place, and has branches throughout the Adelaide metropolitan area, and in South Australian regional centres.

## Road service

[edit]

RAA offers several membership types, including Premium, Plus, Standard, and Fleet Membership.[4] RAA benefits are not restricted to South Australia, with members having access to affiliate organisations interstate and overseas, including RACV, RACQ, RACWA, RACT, NRMA, and AANT.

RAA patrols respond to more than 400,000 calls for emergency roadside assistance each year, with over 90% of problems fixed at the roadside. The primary aim of the patrol is to get vehicles going again. If that is not possible, RAA arranges for the towing of the vehicle.[5]

RAA Premium members are entitled to an unlimited number of calls for roadside assistance, and Standard members are allowed four calls per year.[6]

## History

[edit]

### 1903 to 1928

[edit]

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On 30 September 1903, a small group of South Australian motoring enthusiasts established a social motoring club called the Automobile and Motor Cycling Club.[7]

Early members participated in the Adelaide Hills, hill climbs, and reliability trials, contributing to the development of motorsport in South Australia. At the time, there were no garages, and drivers had to fix many problems on their own.

With the introduction of motoring regulations, RAA began advocating for motorists' interests, a role it continues today. A division between members focused on sports, and those interested in policy and regulations, led to a split in 1910, challenging RAA’s continuity.

A determination to concentrate on practical help for members followed, and the Automobile Club (as RAA was called then) became an association. RAA opposed speed limits (still as low as 4mph in places by the 1920s) and the revenue-raising tactics of police speed traps.[8] This led to a significant increase in membership, growing by 1,379 percent between 1920 and 1930.

Proliferating speeding prosecutions led to free road rules advice for members (the first formal service) as early as 1911. Other member benefits included a list of country hotels, and the production of the state's first detailed road map.[9] In 1913, it also began direction signposting.

Early in the 1920s, the association was restructured to become a fully-fledged service organisation. Staffing levels grew from zero early in 1920 to about three dozen by the decade's end. By then, Road Service, Technical, Touring, and Motoring Road Rules services were established, and the RAA Motor Insurance Policy was in place.

In 1928, the association was granted the prefix 'Royal' by King George V, a sign of recognition from England and the State Government (which had to approve the application first), with which it still had bitter battles. This recognised the association’s contributions, including providing transport for wounded and sick soldiers returning from World War I.

### 1929 to 1963

[edit]

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RAA bought its first freehold office at 49 Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, and moved in in 1928, shortly before the 20,000th member was enrolled. Following the outbreak of World War II, RAA formed and operated the Civil Defense Transport Auxiliary, surveyed and mapped the state's roads for the military authorities, provided research into alternative fuels, and supported the cause in other ways. Economic challenges arose due to stricter petrol rationing and high inflation.

By 1947, the motoring organisations knew that rationing was no longer necessary and campaigned to remove it. Prime Minister Ben Chifley refused. Against a backdrop of RAA accusations that petrol was being used as a political weapon, Chifley was defeated in an election at the end of 1949. The incoming Government quickly removed rationing.

Since the early 1920s, RAA called for a single Road Traffic Act to replace about a dozen different Acts and hundreds of regulations. RAA participated on the committee which put together the Act, which came into force in 1937.

The early 1950s saw a massive increase in car ownership and spiralling RAA membership, soaring past 75,000. Road Service changed, with the familiar motorcycle outfits replaced by vans, and the Guides became Patrols and started using two-way radios, operating 24 hours a day out of new premises in North Adelaide.

By RAA's Golden Jubilee in 1950, there were 140 staff, supported by seven country offices and 99 road service depots. Service figures in 1953 showed 66,000 road service jobs, almost 40,000 touring inquiries, 12,000 vehicle inspections, 84,000 technical inquiries, 1,300 motoring road rules inquiries, almost a thousand court defenses, and 20,000 insurance policies.

In 1959, the association changed its logo from the Automobile Association of SA to RAA.[3]

### 1954 to 1978

[edit]

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As motoring and membership grew, RAA moved into larger headquarters, built new technical premises, began its office and vehicle inspection centres in the suburbs, established staffed offices in major country areas, and started its march into the computer age.

Though this was the State's most potent period of motoring growth, by the 1970s, it was balanced by less buoyant issues. These included fears that the world was running out of crude oil, growing concerns about pollution, and differing opinions on the development of freeways and, indeed, on the future of the motor car.

Under a backdrop of ever-increasing taxes and charges, RAA fought to improve petrol-selling hours in Adelaide, lobbied for the city's first central off-street parking, and battled to get the Eyre Highway sealed. It succeeded with all three, and kept an eye on other new features like parking meters, speed radar, seat belts, and breathalysers. Member services continued to evolve and improve. RAA Travel Service, Driver Training, Travelers Shop, and Finance Service all began in this period. In contrast, an in-house Motoring Road Rules service began the advisory service previously handled by the solicitors.

The Touring Department planned caravan parks, and initiated the 'star' grading accommodation classification scheme, which is still used, and published its first touring guidebooks. Late in the 1950s, RAA employed its first cartographer, and began drawing in-house the regional maps from which today's maps take their lineage.

A notable casualty of the 1970s was RAA's role of providing much of the state's road signposting, a task it had handled for over half a century. During this time, inflation caused costs to escalate alarmingly, with the last straw being the prospect of metric conversion when distances changed from miles to kilometres.

During this period of expansion and development, RAA’s membership grew to 357,000, establishing it as a significant organisation in South Australia.

### 1979 to 2010

[edit]

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As the 1980s began, South Australia had an uncertain economy that sometimes slid into recession. This more competitive era saw the association expand its services and combat competition in areas like emergency road service.

The most critical advance in membership benefits since the start of the service era was the introduction, in 1987, of RAA Plus, whose benefits proved so popular with South Australians that almost 30 percent of members now choose the Plus option.

RAA was the first motoring organisation in the world to introduce a battery replacement service, and the first in Australia to produce a computer CD with touring information – the Travel Guide CD-ROM. During the 1980s, the Mapping Department moved from pen-and-ink drawing to an improved process known as scribing, and then to computer mapping. Brand-new operations included the Approved Repair Service and RAA Security Services.

Emergency road service has been based at three locations since 1979 and, like most operations, became heavily dependent on computer technology. Together with Technical Services, it was a prime consideration when a new property at Mile End was constructed, which has since become the association's headquarters. Today, the Richmond Road facility includes a branch office, Child Safety Centre, and Vehicle Inspection Centre.

Growing concern over car theft led to initiatives like RAA's steering wheel lock, the full metal jacket to make cars more difficult to steal, and a vehicle etching scheme to deter professional thieves. This ongoing campaign culminated in the association organizing a Vehicle Theft Summit in 2000. Similarly, the quest to lower the number of deaths and injuries on the roads resulted in the RAA Road Safety Summit during the same year.

The association's quest for improved roads played a part in achieving the sealing of the Stuart Highway, and the creation of the new Crafters Highway and Southern Expressway.

With membership exceeding half a million, RAA increased its community support initiatives.

RAA has supported community initiatives such as an infant restraint hire scheme, alternative energy programs like the Pedal Prix, and participation in ANCAP crash testing for vehicle safety.

By the start of 2010, total membership was 580,000, almost 61% of the state's 953,948 licensed drivers. Now, the total memberships of RAA in South Australia is 665,321.[10]

Since RAA's 100th anniversary in 2003, the organisation has continued along a path of continuous improvement and modernisation. This was reflected in the occupation of the third and final stage of the new headquarters at Mile End in 2004. The city branch returned to its historical and sentimental home at 41 Hindmarsh Square in 2009, with the site having been extensively redeveloped into a green, environmentally friendly complex.

In 2007, RAA's second longest serving Chief Executive, John Fotheringham, retired after 19 years in the role due to health problems, with Ian Stone appointed as his successor.[11]

The start of 2010 has seen improvements made to the website www.raa.com.au, transforming it into an interactive tool rather than a site for information – all aimed at benefiting members. The association has also refreshed the RAA brand, now looking towards the future.

In terms of advocacy, in 2010, RAA launched a new policy, Mobility for Life, which embraces the use of all forms of transport at all stages of life. RAA Security Services was rebranded Secure Services as demand increased for Personal Alert Systems among retirees, which are worn as a pendant and activated in the event of an emergency to summon help. This reflected a changing RAA, offering services beyond motoring.

## Offices

[edit]

RAA has branches in the Adelaide central business district, Mile End, Elizabeth, Modbury, Marion, Morphett Vale, and West Lakes.[12]

### Regional Centres

[edit]

RAA has offices in Berri, Clare, Kadina, Mount Barker, Mount Gambier, Murray Bridge, Naracoorte, Port Augusta, Port Lincoln, Port Pirie, Renmark, Tanunda, Victor Harbor, Whyalla, and Broken Hill (New South Wales).

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Our Story". www.raa.com.au. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
2. ^ "DevelopmentAid". DevelopmentAid. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
3. ^ a b The History of RAA Badges
4. ^ RAA Membership entitlements
5. ^ RAA Membership – Road Service
6. ^ Levels of cover, www.raa.com.au
7. ^ Nichol, Stuart. "Rebel on Wheels – One Hundred Years of the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia 1903–2003". Royal Automobile Association, 2003
8. ^ "Adelaide's first car club gets serious in 1911 on road to becoming Royal Automobile Association of South Australia: RAA". Adelaide A-Z. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
9. ^ "R.A.A. road map of South Australia / compiled in the Department of Lands from the latest information available and issued by the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
10. ^ WSO2 (5 May 2016). "How the Royal Automobile Association of South Australia implemented SOA". Medium. Retrieved 27 April 2024.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
11. ^ "New RAA boss appointed". ABC News. 26 June 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
12. ^ RAA- Contact us

## External links

[edit]

* RAA website

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States