Condingup and Districts
Sporting Shooters Club and SSAA Branch

Western Australia Club Profile

In November of 1994, Phil Mills shifted from Esperance to the Condingup District. With a strong interest in shooting, he wrote to the Shire Council regarding the formation of a SSAA club and range in an old gravel pit adjacent to the Condingup town site. The Council replied saying the site was not appropriate for a firing range but that they would approve the request once suitable land was found.

Because the area was a farming district, the project was put on hold until after the 1994/95 harvest. In March of '95, a meeting was held that saw the formation of the Condingup and Districts Sporting Shooters Club SSAA.

Nine financial members made up the club, with Charlie Johnston serving as president, Paul Bertola as secretary and treasurer and Phil Mills as club captain, range officer and safety officer.

While several pieces of land were considered for the range, the long process of obtaining approval forced the club to finally settle on Charlie Johnston’s farm as the range site. Approved for pistols up to .45 calibre, the club held its first shoot with ten fixed targets on June 15, 1996. Manually operated turning targets were purchased and a shed erected in 1997.

As the club continued to grow, an additional ten targets were acquired. As it stands, the club hopes to convert the manual targets to air-operated frames by the end of this year. When that does occur, Condingup will be the third pistol club in the Esperance Shire to have automatic turning target frames.

The club is now in its seventh year and has a membership of 22 adults, two juniors and three associates. Average attendance on competition days is 15. The disciplines shot include mandar, standard revolver, BR 30, field pistol and military pistol.

Barbecue facilities are available. The range is located 19 kilometres north of Fisheries Road on Ridgelands Road.

For more information contact: president Charlie Johnston on 08 9076 6021 or secretary Brett Williamson on 08 9078 7023.