One of Whanganui's shooting ranges underneath the RSA which is up for sale.
A shooting range in a Whanganui city basement has been in constant use for almost 75 years but its existence was unknown to many.
The RSA Target Shooting Club, established by returned soldiers after World War II has come to light now that the building in St Hill St is being sold and the RSA is merging with the Cosmopolitan Club to become Club Metro.
Shooting club captain Graeme Simpson says the club is very much in use and has been since it was established in 1944.
"We are about to celebrate 75 years and it is a shame we won't be able to do it here," he says.
The Chronicle was invited to visit the range where we met president Gordon Eastabrook and Raewyne Simpson, who is the club vice-president as well as Graeme's wife and the club's longest-serving member.
"I joined in the late 1960s but I can't remember whether it was in 67 or 68," she says.
Club president Gordon Eastabrook with captain Graeme Simpson and vice-president Raewyne Simpson at the RSA shooting range.
The club will soon move its operations to the existing indoor range at Okoia and although memorabilia from their current home will go with them, many unique features will be left behind.
Features like the cleverly designed target wall which slides across so that targets can be removed and replaced between firing rounds.
Or the names and slogans carved into the old brickwork covered by layers of white paint.
The range area of the basement is four metres wide and the length of the room from the shooting area to the target wall is 25 yards, as per the British standard, and a red light glows above the range to indicate that no firing should be taking place.
There is evidence everywhere of adaptations made by club members over the years to make the space more suitable for their purpose.
"We have minutes from meetings dating back to the club's first days that tell us when things were done and why," says Eastabrook.
The width of the range was expanded in 1945 so that three shooters could stand side-by-side and a second deck was added in 1947.
The club's first rifle, made by the Birmingham Small Arms company, has been decommissioned and displayed in the "social room" among trophies and photos.
"For a while, they only had three rifles which they had to share and each member was allocated seven bullets to fire at a meeting," says Raewyn Simpson.
A number of the trophies on display are from her past wins and she will soon be competing in the women's and veterans' national and North Island competitions as she has done many times before.
Eastabrook says small-bore shooting has been practised in New Zealand for 79 years and is among the nation's safest sports.
"We have very stringent rules and in all these years, there have been few accidents and no fatalities."
It is uncertain where the RSA Target Shooting Club 75th celebrations will be held next year but the club members say they will certainly mark the occasion in style.
