Badges
OF THE ROYAL AUTOMOBILE
ASSOCIATION OF
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
BADGES OF THE ROYAL AUTOMOBILE
ASSOCIATION OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
B
adges have held much greater importance in
the RAA’s history than is sometimes realised.
For many years – especially after the start of
emergency road service in 1923 – there were
no membership cards and badges were the
only means of establishing a member’s eligibility for service. In
the 1910s and 1920s, badges also played an important role in
helping RAA Guides (now known as Patrols) identify members
and warn them about the presence of police speed traps. In
addition, parking facilities in Adelaide city were so strict in the
1920s that the RAA was given sole control over special parking
areas. This led to an announcement in 1923 by the RAA that
only cars bearing the RAA badge would be allowed to park
in AA parks.
For these reasons, badges were hired to members rather than
sold, with the requirement that they be returned on cessation
of membership. One means of keeping track of them was the
stamping of a unique number on each badge, including details
of when they were issued and to whom, which were kept in
hand written registers.
April 2008
1909
THE FIRST CAR BADGE
During 1995 the RAA discovered the existence of
two copies of its original car badge.
ENLARGEMENT
Produced in 1909, only fifty were ever made and
possibly as few as half of them were released.
One of those badges is now in the RAA’s
possession and with the assistance of the
University of Adelaide’s Department of Chemical
Engineering, the badge has been thoroughly
examined and tested.
This was principally done as an aid to
authenticating the badge, but in the process the
testing also reinforced a visual impression that it
had been made by hand, possibly as an exercise
for an apprentice. Part of the University’s report
examined the lettering of the emblem, suggesting
that it had been fabricated by hand from rolled
brass sheet. As the photomicrograph (pictured
right) shows, evidence of finishing by file can be
clearly seen. The variability of the width, from
13mm to 14.7mm, also suggests that the badge
has been fabricated by hand rather than a casting
technique. This is in marked contrast to the highquality die-casting of future badges.
RAA records provide no clue as to why they
were manufactured this way. It may have been a
cost factor, partly because of the Club’s financial
position and partly because the small quantity
needed (50 four-inch diameter car badges and
12 three-inch motor cycle ones) made hand
production a more cost-efficient option.
There is no record of the manufacturer’s name,
but it’s likely to have been A W Dobbie & Co,
whose brass and iron foundry was in Gawler Place
at the time. A W Dobbie was something of a
This photomicrograph taken at the University of
Adelaide indicates the rough hand finish of the
badge, including distinct file marks. It was taken
with the badge upside down and shows the tail of
the letter ‘S’.
celebrity in Adelaide through his great interest
in technological developments and in 1913 his
company was signed up into RAA membership.
They also tendered successfully to produce some
later badges.
1904
The badge of 1904.
The first reference to an RAA badge was in the minutes
of its second meeting, held on 5 October, 1903.
Designs were on view during December and the final
design was agreed early in 1904. At that stage the
RAA’s original name – The Automobile and Motor
Cycling Club of South Australia has just been amended
by the deletion of the words ‘Motor Cycling’.
The badge was designed as a club logo (used
on letterheads, yearbooks, and the like) and was
manufactured as a lapel badge, including at least
one example of a specially–struck larger version for
presentation to an Honorary Life Member. It was not
issued as a car badge.
As a lapel badge it was very expensive, costing the
club six shillings each. A second batch was delivered
in March 1905, made by Bridgland and King, but had
to be remade because of its inferior quality.
The material was most likely nickel, or bronze with
nickel plating. The principal colour was gunmetal
grey, with the rim picked out in metallic blue. The
RAA has the only known surviving sample of this
lapel badge.
1907
In September the first reference was made to a Club car
badge. Sample designs were considered, but for some
time the matter was not pursued with much energy.
Discussions continued through 1907 and 1908.
1909
In May 1909 it was announced that a limited number
of badges would be made available – this was the first
reference to the availability of a car badge. Meanwhile,
the lapel badge of 1904 continued to be used, and in
fact remained the official Club emblem until the RAA
was reconstituted as an Association in 1911.
From initial considerations during 1907, the
development of a car badge was an ongoing
task, which ended with the Club deciding to invite
competitive suggestions from members, which resulted
in member, H Law Smith, being awarded first prize.
The badges were ordered in ‘nickel and brass’ in
February 1909, car badges being four inches (102mm) in
The badge of 1909.
diameter and motorcycle badges about three inches
(76mm). The phrase ‘nickel and brass’ indicated brass
as the core material, which was nickel-plated. They
were not sold to members, but were made available
in May for a first-year rental of two shillings and six
pence and one shilling per year thereafter.
Fifty car and 12 motorcycle badges were ordered
and records show the purchase of no further batches
were arranged. From statements of accounts it
appears that only between half and two thirds
were issued. Though they were, like later badges
individually numbered, the RAA’s surviving badge
registers only begin with the 1911 badge.
1911 - 1921
During 1911 the RAA underwent a metamorphosis
from Club to Association. This immediately dictated
the need for a new badge. In July a decision was made
to copy the AA badge [UK], with the addition of the
letters ‘SA’.
The manufacturer of the first batch is unknown, but
is believed to have been Niehus & Lucy, who quoted
five shillings each for 50. It was available in September
1911 and replaced both the 1909 and 1904 badge/
logo. A new price structure for rental was introduced,
aimed at maximising the chances of badges being
returned if members resigned. A flat rental of seven
shillings and six pence was agreed with five shillings
being refunded on return of the badge.
The badge of 1911.
This badge lasted for more than a decade, so new
batches were produced from time to time and by
different companies. The second issue, for instance,
comprised 25 brass and 25 nickel badges from
Stokes & Sons of Melbourne. There were dramatic
differences in cost though and at one stage they
reached a level which required the rental to be
increased to 10 shillings per badge (including seven
shillings and six pence deposit). In 1921, Alwin Fisher
Ltd provided a batch for just three shillings each
allowing the cost to members to be almost halved.
By the early 1920s the badges were popular and
the RAA’s membership was increasing rapidly – thus
batch orders were increased 300 at a time.
1922 - 1928
The badge of 1923.
In February 1922 an application was made to copyright
the badge, however solicitors advised that this could
not be done ‘for technical reasons’. This could have
been because the RAA had openly used the AA (UK)
design as its base.
To get around this problem, in June 1922 it was
proposed to alter the encircling ring on the border so
that a difference would be apparent at a glance, thus
making it possible to copyright the design.
As a result, a new design was immediately put in hand
and during December the new design was filed for
copyright. The registration number 4149 was to be
included on each badge.
Early samples of the badge were regarded as being
too heavy, and an aluminium badge was agreed on,
with 500 ordered in January 1923 from Alwin Fisher
Ltd. The long-established motor body builders Duncan
and Fraser later quoted a price of three shillings and
six pence each and received subsequent orders for
some years.
During the 1920s the badge became a focus of
attention, as when emergency road service began
in 1923, badges were the only means of member
identification. Extreme measures were eventually taken
to secure the return of the badges from resigned
members, including the threat of legal action. At one
stage over 400 badges were either unaccounted for or
had not been returned by resigned members.
Not surprisingly, the concept of a membership card
was adopted later that decade.
1928 - 1950
During November 1928 the RAA received the news
that the ‘Royal’ prefix has been granted and steps
were immediately taken to design a new badge.
Apart from simplifying the rim design, the major
change was the inclusion of the Royal crown.
Two designs were considered, one from Schlank
& Co and the other from RAA committee member
E H McMichael. Schlanks subsequently combined
The badge of 1929.
features from each in the new design and provided
the first batch.
In March 1929 an order was also given to Schlanks
for 1000 lapel badges, of the same design, which
were to be sold to members for two shillings each.
This was the first lapel badge issue since 1911 and
was so popular that a further 1000 were
soon ordered.