“There's one Maynard family plate that will never go under the hammer.”

Wednesday, November 29th 2023

“There's one Maynard family plate that will never go under the hammer.”

The second you meet the Maynard family, you feel the love for Central Queensland. Their passion for the region may have grown over three generations, but the impact they've had on the community has been a lot quicker.

It all started with a personalised plate.

It's Your PPQ - Maroons

Audio description	The acoustic guitar track plays throughout.
Video description	GEOFF, A middle-aged man in a wide brimmed Akubra hat looks directly into the camera and gives a little nod. Cattle are in the background.
GEOFF	Yeah, look we're actually third-generation here on this property.
Video description	GEOFF, his wife, and his four kids all wear maroon Rugby League football jerseys and pose for the camera. They stand in front of an old wire fence with rolling green countryside behind them.
Audio description	Magpies warble in the background.
Video description	Three girls in jeans, work shirts and hats are shown in cattle stockyards. One closes a fence, one stands on a fence and one climbs over a fence.
GEOFF	I feel very proud to be part of the community here.
Video description	Cattle move into the stockyards. A close-up of a photo album shows young people holding up various Queensland number plates.
GEOFF	When we first bought the Queenslander plates, we decided to auction them off for charity.
Video description	GEOFF is seated outside, surrounded by the three girls, and they look through the photo album laughing. The group sit at a table eating food and laughing. They all wear maroon Rugby League jerseys.
GEOFF	We were astounded with how much the plates raised.
Video description	A number plate is shown with 1BRONCOS written in white on a maroon background. Another plate is shown with QLDER in white writing on a maroon background. There is a close-up shot of the net across a tennis court, followed by a wider shot of the man standing with a middle-aged woman on a tennis court.
GEOFF	Over the next six years, we auctioned off a bevy of plates and raised over $100,000 for local communities and charities.
Video description	The man stands with his arm leaning on an open stockyard gate. There is a close-up of a number plate with MAROONS in white writing on a maroon background.
GEOFF	There is one plate that's in the Maynard family collection that will never go under the hammer.
Video description	The man stands next to a red vehicle with the MAROONS number plate, surrounded by his family all wearing maroon Rugby League jerseys, laughing and smiling.
Video description	White text appears on screen: IT’S YOUR PPQ (with the PPQ logo)

"In 2003, I sat in a car dealership in Rockhampton, reading one of the PPQ brochures, not being aware of all the options. I took that brochure home and, straight away, started playing with as many combinations as I could,” G. Maynard said.

The first plate the Maynards purchased was QLD DER – after Billy Moore's famous half-time call-to-arms, during game two of the 1995 State of Origin. "We organised to have the plate auctioned off for charity, at the 2003 FOGS Luncheon. We were astounded with how much the plate raised." The rest, as they say, is history.

The profits from the auction went to various local charities, including The Mardi Jackson Foundation, for melanoma research; along with several small school and community groups.

Over the next six years, the Maynards auctioned off similar plates; QLDER 1, 1 QLDER, QLD DAR; and with the release of seven-letter combinations added MAROON 1 into the mix. There was one combination however, that proved more difficult to let go of.

"I went to the PPQ plate auction, at the Brisbane car show around 2007, and that’s where we bought the MAROONS plate. This will stay in the family – no auctioning for this one."

The family – five kids in tow – all travel together from Central Queensland to see the Origin.

"We love it, the kids love it, it has brought us closer together," He said,

"Plus, with the help of PPQ, we’ve raised over 100k for charities and met many wonderful people we wouldn’t have had a chance to meet."

What's next on the auction block? With combinations like 1 MAROON, QLDER 01, MAROON 6, BRONCO 1, COWBOY 1, TITAN 01, QLD BULL, THE HEAT and GO REDS in the collection, anything is possible.

But not if the family have anything to say about it. "As the kids get closer to driving age, they occasionally come out and say 'You're not going to auction that one, are you?'

Show your sporting passion, local or national, on a plate.

“There's one Maynard family plate that will never go under the hammer.”

“There's one Maynard family plate that will never go under the hammer.”

It's Your PPQ - Maroons

Join the PL8M8 community

Join the Plate Mate community

Welcome to the PL8M8 community