A morning at Bendigo Field & Game 

I arrived at Bendigo Field & Game shortly after 10 am last Saturday, joined by members of our National Office team, with the day’s shoot already well underway. 

In many ways, that was the best way to see the branch. Squads were being called, targets were in the air, traps were operating and volunteers were getting on with the many jobs required to run a successful day. I caught up with Branch President Leigh Climas, Gary Buchanan, Peter McKenzie and a number of other members and volunteers. 

Those conversations are an important part of why I am visiting our branches. You learn things standing beside a shooting ground, looking at equipment or studying a map with someone who knows the country that you will never pick up from a written report. 

A branch with history and practical knowledge 

One of my strongest impressions of Bendigo was the depth of history and practical knowledge within the branch. Inside the clubhouse, the trophies, honour boards and championship pennants tell part of that story. They represent many years of competition, volunteering and involvement in Field & Game. 

Outside, the substantial fixed and mobile target infrastructure reflects years of volunteer effort and accumulated knowledge about running simulated field shooting in a bush environment. The surrounding forest is an important part of the character of the ground, providing the terrain and vegetation for varied target presentation. 

But the visit also reinforced that Bendigo Field & Game is about considerably more than clay targets. The sign at the entrance captures it simply: hunting, target shooting and conservation. That combination remains important to who we are. 

Hunting, wetlands and access 

One of the most valuable conversations of the morning was about hunting and wetlands. 

Peter McKenzie took me through a detailed map of the Kerang Lakes district, pointing out hunting areas, State Game Reserves and some of the practical access issues members are encountering. Gary Buchanan and other members also shared their knowledge of individual wetlands, access routes and changes they have observed over time. 

I was particularly struck by the fact that members had gone to the trouble of keeping and marking up this information. Peter was able to point directly to particular areas on the map and explain what members are experiencing on the ground. These are people talking about places they know, hunt and have visited over many years. 

Members raised concerns about practical access to some State Game Reserves. In some locations, they report that tracks or approaches have become overgrown or increasingly difficult to use. I want us to understand the individual examples properly before reaching conclusions about why that has occurred or who is responsible. 

But there is an important issue here. A State Game Reserve can remain legally available for hunting on a map while becoming progressively harder to access in practice. 

If that is occurring, FGA should understand it and, where appropriate, raise it constructively with the responsible land managers. Access is also part of the wider question of how these reserves are looked after over time, alongside habitat, weeds, pests, infrastructure and other land-management needs. 

Local knowledge we should use 

Looking at that Kerang Lakes map prompted a broader thought: what would it look like if we could capture this kind of knowledge across Victoria? 

Our branches and members collectively hold an enormous amount of practical information about wetlands. They know where access is good or poor, where conditions have changed, where habitat work has occurred, and where weeds, pests, infrastructure or other management issues may need attention. 

I don't want to create another reporting obligation for branches. The value lies in the practical knowledge people already have. 

But if we could identify priority sites and observations across the State, verify the important issues and bring them together, FGA would have a much stronger evidence base for discussions with government and land managers. The map Peter showed me at Bendigo was a very tangible example of what that could look like. 

The people who make it work 

The visit also reminded me how much knowledge sits with our volunteers. 

A successful shoot can look relatively straightforward from the outside. It isn't. Someone has prepared the course, maintained and positioned the traps, organised nominations and squads, scored the competition, maintained the facilities and dealt with the many small jobs that make the day work. 

Bendigo has people who have accumulated that experience over many years. The opportunity is to keep passing it on. 

That is not unique to Bendigo. I am seeing it across our branch network. Many strong branches depend heavily on a relatively small group of experienced and capable people. Our challenge is to make it easier for newer and younger members to work alongside them, learn those jobs and progressively take on responsibility. 

That is about building on what is already working, and Bendigo has a strong base from which to do it. 

Why these visits matter 

We also talked about the changing Bendigo district, the branch's operating environment and some of the things members are thinking about for the future. 

Not everything raised during a branch visit requires National Office to intervene. Sometimes our first responsibility is simply to understand the issue properly. Where FGA can remove an obstacle, provide expertise or take an issue into a discussion with government, we should. Where something is best handled locally, our role should be to support the branch rather than make it more complicated. 

I left Bendigo with a much better understanding of the branch and an even stronger appreciation of the knowledge held within our membership, not only about running clay target events, but about hunting, wetlands, conservation and the landscapes our members have known for decades. 

That is why I intend to keep getting out to our branches. FGA cannot properly represent and support its members solely from National Office. We need to see the grounds, understand the places our members hunt and conserve and, most importantly, listen to the people doing the work. 

Thank you to Leigh Climas, Gary Buchanan, Peter McKenzie and everyone at Bendigo who took the time to talk with us, show us around and share their knowledge, and to the volunteers who quietly do the work that keeps the branch going.