Our RACT
Story
A lot can change over a century.
Cars certainly have.
Road rules too.
Even our name has changed twice.
Like many a Tasmanian road, our story has a few twists and turns, and detours into important parts of the social, political, and cultural history of Tasmania.
It’s a story of a community of people, a ‘Club’, who share a common interest in a common place.
Our home.
OVER A CENTURY
From humble
beginnings
It all started with two men talking cars at a Hobart café.
Today more than 200,000 people are part of Tasmania's largest member organisation.
A voice when
it matters
With automobiles becoming more accessible and seriously outdated roads, a voice for the motoring community was key to shaping the roads we know and love today.
A VOICE
A shoulder
to lean on
SOURCE OF TRUTH
With more motorists across Tasmania, we became a source of truth and information on the best way to behave on and navigate our roads.
SOURCE OF TRUTH
Our handbook offered general material of interest to motorists in Tasmania.
Some sections offered technical advice. There were also distance tables, enabling drivers to compare trips and assess their fuel needs before heading out.
In late 1924 we advised the government on locations around Tasmania for their road lighthouse installation.
These “lighthouses” were gas-powered illuminated warning devices designed to warn of dangerous places on the main roads.
Activities of cars that were subjected to hill-climbing, acceleration, and fuel consumption tests were of considerable interest as it helped promote and educate those new to owning automobiles.
An innovation from member E V O’Brien saw member discounts on accommodation and fuels rapidly endorsed and taken up by Tasmanian businesses.
A community
to be part of
While we were founded by and for motorists, the advent and growth of automobiles was only one factor driving our formation in 1923.
More important, really, was the “club culture” that dominated Australian cities and towns at the dawn of the early twentieth century.
Clubs, clubhouses, club rooms, club meetings, club dinners, club rules, club badges – all were extremely familiar things to Australians of the early twentieth century.
And so begins the 100 year story of Tasmania’s largest membership Club.
