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Ron Matthews1934 - Long Range Rifle Shooting
Ron Matthews was born at Wooton Bassett, England on 22nd. December 1934. Introduced to the sport at age 15, Ron enjoyed instant success with the small bore rifle and at 18 he was called up for National Service and was introduced to big bore rifles in the British Army shooting team. After leaving the army Ron joined a fullbore rifle club. Ron migrated to Australia in 1965 and continued to develop his association with Rifle shooting.He was a founding member of the Qantas Rifle Club where he was captain for 9 years in which time he led a club team 8 times to Zimbabwe and once to Hong Kong. In 1997 Ron won the British Commonwealth long-range championship and has competed on the African continent no less than 12 times winning 9 Presidents badges plus Australian Queens Badges and Grand Championship Badges and Spoons. Ron also found time to be a founding member and Vice President of the NSW Shooting Association. He was also a member of the Australian Goodwill Team to South Africa in 1998. In 2000 Ron declined a chance to represent Australia at the Veterans World Championships to take up the position of manager of the Australian rifle team of the Millennium Games. In 2002 Ron competed in the world masters championships at Bendigo, Victoria where he won three gold, three silver and two bronze medals. Ron continued to compete in 2002/2003 winning many bars and medals but in addition to being a competitor, he also managed and coached various teams at State and National level. Some of these appointments included four years as Manager of the NSW Country team against City and he was 'wind' coach of the Wiltshire County Rifle team and the Malaysian Rifle team at Bisley in 2004. From 1997 to 2006, Ron has been the Royal Marines target coach teaching Target Rifle shooting and Marksmanship. As a competitor, Ron participated at Bisley in England in 2003, 2004 and 2005. Bisley is regarded as the ultimate in world rifle shooting competition and in the 2003 competition, Ron competed in the World Long Range Championship, gaining a place in the top 100 shooters in the world. In 2006 Ron did not compete in rifle shooting due to a shoulder injury but he went to the British open Championships where he was invited and accepted the role of Range Officer for the Championships. He was given the honour of being the first Australian ever to be asked to Range Officer Her Majesty the Queen’s Prize at the 137th Imperial Meeting. Ron captained the NSW team in the National Championships in Victoria in 2007 with his team winning two gold medals and two silver medals to emerge as the top team at the championships. England again beckoned and once again in 2007 Ron was off to Bisley to help County team Wiltshire and to officiate at the British Championships.
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