It’s a good thing Englishman Peter Shuttleworth loves chatting to strangers when he’s holidaying. If he hadn’t struck up a conversation with the also holidaying John and Glenda Cleave back in 2013, he would never have discovered Cohuna.
The Shuttleworths and Cleaves hit it off straight away and Peter, from Newbury in England, has been visiting Cohuna annually ever since. It began as a holiday in late 2013 but once he heard there was a clay target club down the road, he came back for the club’s annual Anzac Day Shoot the following year – and kept coming.
Peter picked up shooting in his 40s and found it helped to clear his mind. “I got the bug,” he said, “I find it’s relaxing. I was getting stressed at work, so I found it good to come in and clear your mind and shoot.”
Now retired, Peter lives the dream of shooting across England, trap shooting from October to March and English Sporting (based on game bird shooting) from April to September, plus the odd international shoot. Between seasons, he visits Australia for Cohuna’s Anzac Day shoot.
On this visit, Peter will spend two weeks in Cohuna, a week in Canberra shooting with a former English friend, and three weeks with his son in Port Macquarie, where he is also a member of the local gun club.
Peter says he is not shy of lending a hand on the farm and “embracing the country life”, and his passion for shooting has rubbed off on Craig and Harrison Cleave, who are now both ingrained in the local club.
His first Anzac Day shoot in 2014, commemorating 100 years since the Anzac campaign, saw Peter return home with the commemorative sash and two others, which he proudly displays at home. Ten years later, Peter is hoping for another win.
“Last year, I had about 2 or 3 second places, only narrowly missed out last year, so, high hopes this year – high hopes,” he said.
Peter shoots all over the world, seeking out shooting opportunities when holidaying and says each experience is unique.
“Not all clubs are the same; the topography is different, their backgrounds are different, the trees or bushes are different – and I find that refreshing.
“The topography of the ground has an effect on how you shoot,” he says, explaining how the wind at the top of a hill at Nottingham gave a completely different experience to shooting at the base of the hill.
“At Port Macquarie, the kangaroos sit there eating about 80 yards out, and everybody’s shooting over their heads, and they don’t seem to care. To see something like that, I think is lovely.”
Vice president of Cohuna Clay Target Club, Steve Bottcher says it’s always good to see Peter visit for the Anzac Day shoot, and while not travelling as far as Peter, between 80 and 100 entrants from as far away as South Australia are expected.
“The Anzac shoot is the major event of the year. We’ve got a lot of sponsors; we’re supported well by the local businesses,” said Steve.
The two-day shoot will be held this weekend, Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28 from 10am each day at the Cohuna Clay Target Club on Island Road, Daltons Bridge.
This article appeared in The Koondrook and Barham Bridge Newspaper, 25 April 2024.
