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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
CLUB
The Castlemaine Pistol Club,
formed on the 31st August 1959 was one of the first pistol clubs
formed in Victoria. The founders were Jack McMahon and Len Pearson
and in association with the Castlemaine Small bore Rifle Club
shooting took place at the picturesque small-bore range at Moonlight
Flat on the outskirts of the City of Castlemaine Township.
Membership fees at this time were £2-2-0 with a weekly range fee of one
shilling.
The club purchased two 'Star' .22 semi-auto pistols and all the early members
learned to shoot with these firearms. In 1964 with a steady increase in
membership the committee decided to set up its own pistol range
An old dredge run on the boundary of the City of Castlemaine and the
neighbouring Shire of Metcalfe was chosen as the most suitable site available.
This plot of ground was very rough and overgrown with coffee bush and had large
blocks of sandstone -some being as large as a family car. The sites greatest
advantage was its high gravel wall that would be suitable for the shooting range
backstop.
Dick Crimean a member of the small bore club made himself and his very old
bulldozer that had a manually operated blade, to help with the clearing of the
site.
Jack McMahon worked in the Wattle Gully gold mine at Chewton as a maintenance
man and powder monkey. Jack with the help of other club members soon made short
work of blasting the tops off the sandstone outcrops to permit the bulldozer to
complete the levelling and enough ground was cleared for two ranges and a
clubhouse.
A large room, part of a house being demolished in Railway Ave. Castlemaine was
purchased. The room was weatherboard clad on one side and had a window in the
opposite end. A five-ton Bedford tray truck was hired to transport the room to
its new site.
The room was placed at the rear of one of the shooting ranges where the No.5
Range shooting shed is now. A door was put in the opposite end to the window and
a large roller door was put into the side facing onto the shooting range. A wood
heater was installed in the middle of the room, which made life a bit more
comfortable during the cold winters.
The range in front of the clubhouse was set up with manually operated rapid fire
targets which were later turned by compressed air being run by a stationary
kerosene engine installed in the clubhouse. At this time there were no
individual shooting bays and no cover from the elements.
As the years went by membership slowly declined and by 1970 had dropped to
three. Charlie Pollinelli (President), George Redfearn (Secretary), John
Sainsbury (Treasurer)
These three held what was going to be the last annual general meeting at the
Commercial Hotel Castlemaine. Charlie and George talked of resigning because of
the lack of members but John wanted to carry on feeling the club could have a
future. (John joined the club in 1963 and after a few years out of the
administration side is now back on the committee of management)
However, after this historic meeting things did start to improve with several
new members and a lot more interest in the club. A new member Leonie Dan who
was a local builder was made secretary (a position which he still holds today),
Tim Ewing a local butcher was made president and held the position till he moved
to North Queensland in 1993.
With the driving force of these two, a steady increase in membership, and with
the aid of a grant from the Shire of Metcalfe the range was gradually expanded.
Two years later the club received a further grant from the Shire of Metcalfe to
enable us to erect a new clubhouse.
Over the following years we have become we feel, one of Victoria’s top country
Pistol Ranges.
As our facilities improved it was felt that with a 100% effort from the
membership we should attempt to hold an open shoot.
February 1987 saw our first open shoot that proved to be so popular it was
decided to attempt another the following year. This is now an annual event run
in the first week of February and is known as the Castlemaine Goldfields Open.
Further improvements saw to the establishment of an Air Pistol Range. The club
now has 6 banks of turning targets on two 25 Metre Ranges, two 50 Metre Ranges,
one of which is convertible to an Action Match range and an indoor Air Pistol
Range which is fitted with electric controlled target return systems.
With a present membership of 36 and 3 or 4 prospective members on the books the
Club can look forward to a bright future as a top sporting venue to serve the
members of the Castlemaine Pistol Club and any visiting V.A.P.A members well in
to the 21st Century.
We thank John Sainsbury for his assistance to compile this history of the club,
some of this information is not on official records of the club.
Castlemaine Pistol
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