THE AUSTRALIAN ARK – Federation to the Modern Era | 1900–1982
In the Barossa Valley, the Tanunda Rifle Club, established 50 years earlier in 1862, was in decline, with only marksmen from Adelaide’s Metropolitan Rifle Club attending as visitors. These clubs were originally set up to train local farmers and businesspeople with firearms. The threat of invasion by Russia had dissipated by this time, although new threats were appearing. The introduction of a universal military training scheme in 1911 resulted in a tussle between the Australian Army and rifle clubs. The military board required rifle club captains to strike off members who failed to qualify as marksmen over a two-year period. These poor shots, known as ‘deadheads’, were seen as a liability. Military control of rifle clubs was an inevitability, as rifle training became seen as a duty rather than a sport. As the dark clouds of war approached, General Sir Ian Hamilton, best known for his role in the Gallipoli campaign in 1915, remarked that ‘[r]ifle clubs constitute the only reserve for the Militia Forces’. In the Barossa, many of the best marksmen were of German origin or descent. The German Kingship rifle clubs faced growing anti-German sentiment from the outset of war, but the growing casualty list forced the Tanunda Rifle Club, as well as Hahndorf, Lobethal, Metropolitan, and Oakbank, to close for the duration of the war. The whole fabric of Barossa Valley life was about to be severely challenged as Australia prepared for war.
Horse drawn carts bringing the grapes in during vintage time at Seppelts winery at Seppeltsfield in the Barossa Valley, South Australia, 1913. [SLSA PRG280 -1-6-148]
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