The Queens Prize or Kings and Bisley

In order to increase the ability of Britain’s marksmen following the Crimean War, Queen Victoria inaugurated the first Queen’s Prize Shoot by offering £250 to the best marksmen in Britain. The first long range shooting match was held at Wimbledon in 1860. Other Commonwealth countries (including Australia, and each of its states) followed suit soon after by creating various similar “Queen’s Prize” competitions.  Teams competed in Great Britain’s National Rifle Association matches in England at Wimbledon for the first time in 1886. Urban sprawl meant the competition was moved from Wimbledon to Bisley in 1902.

At Bisley, annually there are a range of competitions for both individuals and for teams. Bisley is considered the “home of rifle shooting”.

Over time, the name changed from the Queen’s Prize to the King’s Prize on the death of Queen Victoria in 1901. In 1962, the King’s Prize was renamed the Queen’s Prize when Elizabeth II inherited the throne upon her father’s death. In 2022, the Queen’s Prize became known as the King’s prize when Charles III inherited the throne upon his mother’s death.

The World Long Range Championships / Palma Match

In 1876, which was the 100th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence from Great Britain, Australia competed for the Centennial trophy in the first world long range championships at the Creedmoor Range in the USA. The competition used muzzle loaders at 800, 900 and 1000 yards. The Palma match, as it is now known, is therefore believed to be the oldest international shooting match in the world. The Palma match remains the World Long Range Championship competition for Target Rifle  (jacket and sling with open sights) and is contested every 4 years.

In 2009, F-Class disciplines (F-Open and FTR) which uses scopes, rifle stands and different projectiles were added to the World Long Range Championships as a teams’ event. (Note: the “Palma” title is only for the Target Rifle team competition and is not used for F-class). The F-Class team’s World Long Range Championships are also contested every 4 years in an off cycle to the Palma match.

Some Local History

Target shooting is one of the oldest organized sports in Australia with records dating back to British Marines at Sydney Cove in 1788. Early competitive matches were often conducted in the grounds of local hotels with substantial prizes offered by patrons.

In “The Rifleman” book is this statement: “It would be fair to say that the rifle clubs, with their democratic spread to most small towns and urban centre by the time of Federation, were as much a part of, perhaps even more a part of the  colonial cultural and societal landscape of Australia than any of  the great sports with the possible exception of horse racing. The two were indelibly linked in those early years in any case by mounted riflemen and lighthorsemen.  The top riflemen were the sports champions of the day, even if many wore a uniform at least part-time.  Most of all, rifle shooting was an everyman’s sport.  It was cheap, sociable and accessible, if not inclusive (women were for the most part excluded from mainstream, i.e., long distance rifle shooting, until 1965).”

Fullbore first began in the mid 1800’s and the first recorded Annual Prize Meeting was held by Sydney Rifle Club, NSW, on the 1st January 1845. Around 1860 the individual colonies started forming what are now termed ‘State Rifle Associations’. Following in the footsteps of Britain, the ‘Queen’s Prize / King’s Prize’ came into being shortly after.

In 1860 the National Rifle Association of New South Wales was formed to encourage general rifle proficiency in the community and to give permanency to the Volunteer Corps. The Association’s first home was at the Paddington Rifle Range where local competitions were organised for a quarter of a century. In 1890, due to the opening of Centennial Park and safety concerns over the boundaries of the Paddington Range, shooting ceased. A replacement rifle range was established at Randwick, near the present day Maroubra Junction.

During the First World War (1914-18), the various Sydney rifle clubs flourished. The clubs were seen as ideal training grounds where men could be taught to shoot and to do drill. The Government supplied free ammunition; rifles could be purchased very cheaply. After the Great War (WW1) ended in 1918, many of the returning soldiers rejoined their local Sydney rifle clubs. Shooting as an organised sport thrived.

There were many rifle ranges spread throughout Sydney, including ones at Chatswood, Concord, Marrickville, Roseville, Manly, North Sydney etc.

By 1923 the township of Maroubra had grown and, once again, the rifle range was surrounded by an expanding suburban sprawl. The range was closed and the National Rifle Association of New South Wales moved to the Anzac Rifle Range at Liverpool. However in 1968 the Anzac Rifle Range at Liverpool was closed as, once again, the land surrounding the range was needed for housing. The New South Wales Rifle Association as it was then called moved once again. This time they moved to the Maroubra Rifle Range that was renamed Anzac Rifle Range to perpetuate the name. The Anzac Range today still sits on the picturesque Malabar headland at Maroubra.

In a similar vein, most of the rifle ranges around Sydney were closed, one by one due to urban sprawl and for safety due to the improvements of ballistics and rifles. Thus the long range rifle clubs condensed their operations and relocated to either the Anzac Rifle Range on the South Shore (at Maroubra) or to the Hornsby Rifle Range on the North Shore. Some club names are only in the history books now,  some have merged, and some have continued to thrive but in a different location to their founding name. This is how the “Roseville Rifle Club” found its new home 16 km away at the Hornsby Rifle Range a very long time ago.

 

Key Dates and Prizes

1860 – Formation of the UK National Rifle Association to regularize competition among the Volunteers. Inauguration of the Sovereign’s Prize by HM Queen Victoria.

1876 – First World Long Range Championships for the Palma Trophy, Creedmore USA.

1966 – Shooting events included for the first time in Commonwealth Games at Kingston, Jamaica.

1979 – Australia won its first gold at the Palma Match at Trentham in New Zealand.

1985 – The rules of conduct of the Palma Match were made more specific and the control of the Palma Match was given over to the Palma Council which consisted of the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

1988 – Australia won its second gold at the Palma Match in Sydney Australia.

2002 – F-Class disciplines added to the World Long Range Championships (individual)

2006 – Melbourne Commonwealth Games. Bruce Scott and James Corbett, from Australia, came first and second respectively in the open Fullbore competition. Bruce shooting a magnificent score of 403 out of a possible 405. In the pairs match Bruce and James came a very credible second place.

2007 – The Australian Palma Rifle Team wins Bronze in the Palma Match in Canada.

  1. This is the first time Australia has won a Palma medal for 19 years, since 1988.
  2. Australia outshot the previous Palma world record by 51 points.
  3. Australia also won Bronze in the Under 25 International Match.
  4. Australian team members top scored in both the Palma and Under 25 Matches.

2009 – F-Class disciplines added to the World Long Range Championships (teams)

2013 – Australia won its first gold in the teams F-Open World Long Range Championships

2017 – Australia won its second gold in the teams F-Open World Long Range Championships

2019 – Australia won its third gold at the Palma Match at Trentham in New Zealand.

2024 – Australia won its fourth gold at the Palma Match at Bloemfontein in South Africa, setting a new Palma record.

(Australia has also won numerous other medals including team medals for Veterans, U25, U21 and individual medals)