07/06/2026
The MDRA farewelled life member Reg Wagland yesterday in the traditional manner. In the presence of his wife Janet and their sons and families, Peter Ridgway gave a short eulogy and following a minutes silence, Neil Townsend fired the final shot in remembrance of Reg. Reg was a member of our club and a life member of both WARA and the MDRA.
Reg started shooting at the Annandale rifle club at Liverpool NSW and in the company of his father and grandfather, Reg shot competitively from 1959, winning the NSW Junior Champion of Champions 1960/61/62 and in later years represented Australia in NZ, Bisley, Canada and the USA.
Reg moved from NSW to Western Australia in 1970 and quickly took up an administrative roll with his club and the MDRA. Reg was elected to the WARA Council in 1979 and served as Chairman 1983 to 1986.
Reg was farsighted and energetic. During his term as chairman, Reg led the modernisation of WARA and drove a project to rebuild the long range gallery at Swanbourne. In the late 1980s, Reg championed the use of the then new concept of Electronic Targets. His team built and tested targets around WA. However, the project was dependent on the development of a commercial system that did not proceed.
Reg along with others also foresaw the need to find an alternative to the Swanbourne Rifle Range and formed a committee that led initially to the development of the Whiteman Park shooting complex and ultimately the building of WARA’s Pinjar Rifle Range facility. Reg was actively involved with the development of the National Coaching Accreditation Scheme and the move to allow reloading of ammunition – a major change in our sport.
Reg loved this sport and won many badges at competitions across WA. His happy place was the Albany rifle range competing with some of his dearest friends. Reg was a great supporter of anyone who wanted to improve their skills and was rightly proud of the achievements of his wife Janet in winning the Queens PM and many other comps.
Reg stopped shooting competitively in about 2005 but continued to be actively involved driving a high performance development program in WA, managing state teams and working as a Technical Officer for the 2007 and 2011 Palma competitions.
VALE Reginald Wagland
