Leongatha shooter wins elusive gold

THERE was a strong crowd at the recent Small Bore Rifle Shooting Master’s in Tasmania as local Leongatha shooter Robert Spratt claimed a gold medal.

“Seeing as I was starting to get old and the eyes are starting to go, I went over to bench shooting,” Robert said.

“It’s still a target rifle but it has a very powerful scope on it, so us blind people that are getting older can still see the target – but the whole lot of us are on equal footing because we are all going blind!”

A then 10-year-old Robert first learnt to shoot on Phillip Island, when the target was rabbits.

“It just went from there. I got involved in the Small-Bore Rifle Club when I was 18, and I’ve gone right through Target Rifle Victoria Council.

“I enjoy the people. Someone once asked why I chased shooting. I was a dairy farmer for 50-odd years. You go to a dairy farm when things were really bad, and everyone was struggling.

“Whereas when I went shooting – prize shoot or meeting – there was a whole lot of different people from all walks of life. There may be someone who was down but the rest of them would all be up.

“That’s one of the reasons I started chasing it and enjoyed it. I travelled the state for a lot of years.”

Breaking his academic mother’s heart by becoming a dairy farmer at 16, Robert started by milking cows which led to his own 140-acre farm.

“About halfway through my kid’s childhood, she said, ‘you broke my heart when you came down here, but I am envious of the way you can bring your kids up’, because of the farm life.”

“When the kids became teenagers, I went and brought a boat. I never had to worry where my kids were, I had everyone else’s kids with me – I hate to think how many kids I taught to water ski.”

Supported by his loving wife, Roslyn, Robert recalled one of his favourite memories of her joining him for a shoot.

“She used to shoot – we had her in a pennant team back when she was about eight months pregnant – that was funny. She’s always been supportive, but as dairy farmers we decided it was quite easy for one of us to go away and for the kids to help while the other was away. She would go horse-riding, kayaking, walking and bike riding…”

Only Robert’s daughter followed in his footsteps, securing a position in the Australian team but narrowly missing out on the Olympics in 1996.

“She was shooting air rifle which is very time-consuming to get good at. When she was getting serious, I backed off, I was shooting fairly heavily to start with, but it was getting expensive.

“After the Australian team she gave it away and had kids.

“My son knows how to shoot a rifle and shotgun, but he hasn’t got the competitiveness.”

Whilst juniors must be 12 years old to start shooting in Leongatha, the heavier weapons mean most are around 15 with a decent body to hang onto the rifle.

“We’ve had quite a few young kids through the years (keen on shooting), once they get keen on small bore, hunting goes down the drain.”

And what is Robert’s favourite part…

“The people – I’ve got friends all over Australia and New Zealand because of shooting. I’ve been in the organising committees for years and also got a UIT judge’s licence.

“My favourite memory was the Leongatha team winning the A Grade back in ’96. We cleaned everyone up, we were the best team in the state that year – it was an eight-man team with one cut out.

That was a high point.

“I’ve been in state teams – whether national or just state and I was awarded a life membership to TRV about ten years ago – that blew the socks off me.

“I have a couple of silvers and bronzes, but this is the first gold medal I’ve ever won.”

Spread over two days, Robert secured the Master’s gold on Saturday after winning the 20 metre and following up with two additional fairly well shot rounds on Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

“Once you get over the firearms aspect, it is a mental sport. Both men and women are on equal footing – I’ve been getting my bum kicked by the women for years!” Robert laughed.

“It’s all hand, eye coordination…”

Leongatha Small Bore Rifle Club welcomes new members whether those looking to take up the sport permanently or looking to get it a try, pop along to the Leongatha Recreation Reserve at 8pm on Friday nights.