Daryl “Dacka” Robinson got the surprise of his life when he was awarded with a life membership of the Ararat and Stawell Field and Game Club on Sunday.
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Mr Robinson was a founding member of the Ararat Field and Game club 36 years ago before the name changed when Stawell was added on.
The idea to form the committee came from Mr Robinson and friends with similar interests to use an old quarry site near Ararat.
“Shooting grounds were all over the place. We wanted somewhere to shoot so we all got together and had a meeting and got it going,” he said.
The quarry, which needed to be cleaned out, took the group around 12 months to get it to a competition stage.
“It took a long time to clean out the old quarry. By the time we built all of our traps and trap houses we started to shoot competition in 1983,” Mr Robinson said.
One of the biggest accomplishments that Mr Robinson likes to reflect upon is all the trees that are there today were planted by committees and volunteer groups over time.
“We’ve planted over 1000 trees in the quarry. There was only a handful there when we started,” he said.
Ian White, the current president of Ararat and Stawell Field and Game club, said it was an honor and a memorable moment to present Mr Robinson with his life membership to recognise his time of leadership at the club.
Mr White said that many factors contributed to the club’s decision on awarding Mr Robinson with the life membership.
“Members approached me. Dacka has been here since the beginning of this club and also a member of previous shooting clubs for many years,” he said.
It’s also his work with other members of the club and juniors that was noted amongst members.
“He will assist with juniors and newcomers into the club,” Mr White said.
“He’s always happy to pass his knowledge on.”
Mr White surprised Mr Robinson with the award on Sunday.
“Dacka was busy packing up as he always does but I asked him to come along to the presentation. I told a story of how the club was formed and ended with presenting the award,” he said.
Mr Robinson said, “it’s a great honour that’s for sure” when asked about how he felt when receiving the award on Sunday.
Mr Robinson hopes the club can still have a strong membership base going into the future.
“A lot of the young kids should take it up. There is plenty of coaching and help. The more the merrier, it’s a lot better sport than what people think it is,” he said.
