Lot 1027

Description

Sydney Rifle Club, large entirely hand crafted medallion in silver (160grams, 67mm) made from two smoothed silver discs with ornate floral surround with crossed rifles suspension mount and loop at top, engraved in the manner of H. Cohen, obverse gentleman in hat under a tree shooting rifle at a target in the distance, reverse "Presented to / Mr. John Carmichael / by the / Sydney Rifle Club / being the Prize awarded to the / best Shot in the 2nd Match / on the 5th day of April 1847.". Very fine and excessively rare.

Ex Len Barton, Sydney antique dealer in 1980. A similar medal depicted in Gullick's manuscript is in the Mitchell Library. This medal published and illustrated in page 18 of 'The Target Rifle in Australia 1860-1900' by J.E. Corcoran, Sydney 1975. Also published in 'Shooting Awards and Prize Medals to Australian Military Forces' by John O'Connor, Sydney 2002 p.102-3, where reference is made to the discs being made from Spanish eight reales. On 25 December 1844 it was announced that the first Annual Match of Sydney Rifle Club for a prize of a rifle would be fired on 1 January 1845 at the club at Red House Farm, Five Dock. This was the earliest known beginnings of the rifle club movement in Australia. The first known medal to be competed for is the one offered here dated 5 April 1847. Thus this medal is of great colonial significance, of great significance as an example of early colonial medal making and of great rarity as the earliest known rifle club medal.