While the topic of firearms will continue to be the subject of emotional public debate, the members of the target rifle shooting community will always remain proud of the historical origins of their sport and of the opportunity to uphold all its traditions which are deeply rooted in national defence and preparedness. It was following the Crimean War that Queen Victoria inaugurated the first Queen’s Prize Shoot in order to increase the ability of marksmen in Britain, partly because of the poor performance of Britain’s infantry in a series of skirmishes with the Boers, and partly to train the corps of volunteers that had been raised to counter a feared invasion by the French. The prize sum was £ 250 which would have been a rich prize at the time. The first long range rifle shooting match in Britain was thus held on Wimbledon Common in 1860 and then annually. The first shot was fired by Queen Victoria herself, and given her interest in the military, she probably enjoyed doing it, even though the rifle was strapped to a benchrest. The Queen’s Prize was contested at Wimbledon Common until 1890, when it moved to Bisley Camp in Surrey, and again the opening shot of the competition was fired by royalty, this time by the Princess of Wales. Again the rifle was secured as you can see in this contemporary illustration. You can be sure that the senior politicians and military brass hovering around her are not going to let her fire it in the ordinary way. Heavens! She might enjoy it!

The rich prize and widespread support of rifle shooting across all levels of society in those days led to the Queen’s (later the King’s) Prize becoming traditional in Australia and the other Commonwealth Countries as well. This tradition of long-range full-bore rifle competitions is particularly a feature of ex-Commonwealth countries.

The development of the rifle shooting movement is intertwined with Australia’s history and that of nation building during the war years.
“Although the ordinary course of rifle shooting competitions has been suspended for the time being, members of rifle clubs are kept busy in one way or another in connection with matters associated with the war. The latest, and perhaps the most important function they are called upon to perform, is the giving of instruction in rifle shooting to the many members of the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force, who are recruits or neophytes, in the use of the service weapon. The Williamstown ranges will practically be a school of musketry instruction as long as the Expeditionary Force is in camp. As near as possible there should be an instructor to each man, so that no one of the force who requires initiating shall go away without having a well-defined and well-grounded idea of how to use his rifle to the best advantage whenever it comes to being face to face with the enemy.” [The Age, 17 August 1914]

The new range at Williamstown was opened in July 1876 and this 220 target facility remained the focal point for target rifle competition in Victoria until its closure. The first civilian rifle club was formed in 1885 and many others soon followed. After Federation in 1901, Rifle Clubs came under Army control, but after the Great War, a system of national training was embodied in the Defence Act and the rifle clubs reverted to their purely sporting role. In 1921 they were reconstituted as a purely civilian organisation, as they have since remained. By 1939 Victoria had 313 Rifle Clubs and 12,232 members.