Elermore Vale's Tony Davis says the old Stockton rifle range holds a lot of memories for him and probably many others.
Tony recently read in the Newcastle Herald about plans for housing on the old range, which is actually at Fern Bay - next to Stockton.
Newcastle Herald gun reporter Michael Parris recently reported on the rifle range's future.
Defence Housing Australia had applied successfully to Newcastle and Port Stephens councils to rezone land at Fort Wallace and the disused rifle range to allow for up to 400 houses.
Tony said he learned to fire .303 rifles at the range in 1957, after being called up by the government for compulsory national service training. [Right about now we can hear loads of oldish blokes thinking, 'That's exactly what the youth of today need'. The youth of today, of course, do love their weapons ... on Playstation]
Tony was sent to the Air Force for his training.
"Luckily, I went to Rathmines," he said.
At the rifle range, he learned "how to hit a target from varying distances".
"We were taken to the range from Rathmines in a RAAF truck. As we drove through the town, we would all make the noise of bleating sheep.
"One day, we had a new flight sergeant. He stopped the truck and explained that if we did not stop the noise, he would march us all to the range and the truck would travel independently."
They kept quiet.
"One of the boys came from Broken Hill and was very familiar with rifle shooting. He was a very good shot with a .303," Tony said.
His name was Barry Ellis. The pair became good friends.
Before military training, Tony had spent two years at teaching college.
If he found himself appointed to a teaching job in Broken Hill, Barry promised to "meet me at the station and help me settle in".
"I explained to him that I wouldn't be appointed that far west - that the Hunter Valley or North Coast would probably be my area of appointment. How naive I was."
When Tony received a telegram about his first teaching appointment, he learned that he wouldn't be working in Broken Hill.
He was, however, headed for Silverton - 25 kilometres west of Broken Hill.
He phoned Barry to advise his expected time of arrival at Broken Hill railway station.
When his train pulled into the station, good to his word, Barry was waiting.
"I hope you have booked me a good hotel," Tony said.
Barry replied: "I sure have. My place."
Tony said Barry and his family looked after him well.
"They drove me to my boarding place in Silverton and made sure I settled in," he said.
"I spent the remainder of 1957 and all of 1958 at Silverton Primary School."
He taught the kids many things, but not how to shoot a rifle. They already knew that.
Non-Viral Jokes
On the first day of shooting at a rifle range, one soldier in training was fairly confident that his first shot hit the target.
Instructor: "I've got good news and bad news. The good news is you got a bull's eye. The bad news is, it was on somebody else's target."
To be or not to be a horse rider. That is equestrian.
- topics@newcastleherald.com.au
