By 1885 the rifle club in Ferntree Gully was quite established and in July of that year 20 of its members were sworn in, as part of the Governments push for a volunteer defence force. The Government, in order to encourage membership and practise, provided some of the equipment required, i.e. rifles, ammunition and so forth free of charge. In November 1885 a coach load of accoutrements arrived for the mounted men, however there were complaints that the men had to pay for the majority of these themselves. The mounted riflemen were required to attend 12 drills in the year, however the infantry (non-mounted) were not. The riflemen were given a lot of encouragement by the locals, with trophies being donated for competition two or three times a year. Towards the end of 1885 and into the first few months of 1886, Mrs. Samuel Renwick put forward a silver cup to be won after a set number of competitions. The cup was won by Samuel Cornelius Ferguson, who was Lieutenant of the Ferntree Gully Detachment of Mounted Rifles. During the firing for this cup, the men of Ferntree Gully spent some time competing in Rifle Association matches held at the Williamstown butts where some of the Ferntree Gully men carried off prizes.
In October 1886 it was reported that any stranger paying a visit to Ferntree Gully on a Saturday would imagine that a military review was taking place, as the rifle firing from about noon until 5 o'clock was continuous. It was also noted that taking into consideration that the Ferntree Gully men on the whole were working men, credit should be paid to their enthusiasm and patriotism to their country. Around this time a challenge went up between the mounted men of the rifle club and those who were part of the infantry. The prize was to be a dinner, hosted by the losing team. Who won I don't know, however Mr. Harold P. Hayward was for the mounted men and Mr. John T. Dobson for the infantry. In April 1886, two eager riflemen were fined for practising on a Sunday - firing at the butts was considered as unacceptable noise pollution for the Sabbath.
By 1888 the Ferntree Gully Rifle Club was getting a reputation as crack shots throughout the colony, and at a competition held in Sale, they secured not only first prize, but second and third as well. Those representing Ferntree Gully were T. Jones, J. McIntosh, R. Minns and E.Carey, son of constable B.L. Carey the Ferntree Gully policeman of the time. Back home George Williams of Scoresby won the Patterson and Potter Trophy, which was a gold medal valued at 5 guineas, with Carey coming in second. Mr. Charles Stewart Paterson, the Ferntree Gully property developer, made a stirring speech when presenting the trophy. The speech was reported in the South Bourke & Mornington Journal of 11th April, 1888 as follows. "Being an old rifleman himself he informed them that the only way to excel at anything was by study and practice, and that rifle shooting was no exception to that rule, and he was proud to find that the members of the Ferntree Gully Club paid assiduous attention to both, thereby enabling them to hold a high position as marksmen. He dwelt at some length on their proficiency, and concluded a very neat and congratulatory speech by stating that the rifle clubs of the colony would yet make a name for themselves, and at no distant date would become a very important branch of the defence force."
This competition marked the final competition to be held at the Ferntree Gully butts, as the new railway line to Upper Ferntree Gully was to go through the rifle range and they would have found themselves firing across the track at the targets. It was the intention of the club to remove the butts to a convenient spot in the Ferntree Gully recreation reserve, where practise and competition would be carried on from that time on. This rifle club thrived, going on to provide more than 20 soldiers for the Boer War in 1899 and 1900, no mean feat considering places of higher population had only 2 or 3 of their menfolk accepted by the war department. The Ferntree Gully men were excellent marksmen and for a long period of time held a high reputation. This is one sporting club that turned out to have a much more important role than just recreation, which was its original intent. Early in the 1900s, women joined the club, forming their own competition and amongst those who competed was Ada Frieberg whose father, Robert Minns, 20 years earlier had been one of the original club members.
Created by: Timothy Court
Last Modified: Wednesday, 22 March 2000
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