Newcastle Pistol Club’s members endangered by boulders on unstable cliff face
A former member of the Newcastle Pistol Club has spoken out about the dangers members are facing with boulders “big enough to crush a car” dangling at the nearby cliff face.
Newcastle
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A former member of the Newcastle Pistol Club has spoken out about the dangers members are facing with boulders “big enough to crush a car” dangling at the nearby cliff face.
Situated at the old quarry, the Waratah club has seen a number of boulders fall in recent years, with one massive rock crashing down just last week.
It’s prompted Stephen Gorton — who was with the club for around three-and-a-half years until the end of 2018 — to highlight the dangers, saying the whole facility has been made unsafe for public and private use.
His worry — someone could be seriously hurt.
“There’s a whole lot of other boulders up there that look unstable, my concern it’s going to kill somebody,” Mr Gorton said.
“I would have thought given the side of the boulder, it did some damage to the back of the range, that council should have called the police and have it cordoned off and notify the insurance company about it.”
The club operates one foot from the bottom of the cliff.
While the club is privately owned, surrounding areas are owned by Crown lands, part managed by the state and Newcastle Council.
“Down where it fell, that’s where we would go down to score and patch the targets,” Mr Gorton explained.
“Had it fallen when people were down there, it would have killed a bunch of people.”
He also feels member concern is being ignored, despite the obvious danger.
“In the past the club have hushed it up, because it limits them with their activities,” Mr Gorton said.
“I’m perplexed why they haven’t said or done anything about it.
“To put your head in the stand and not do anything is not good for anybody.”
The Newcastle News obtained a copy of an email sent to members which stated due to rock falls after heavy rain, the club president had requested that the 25m ranges be closed until further notice.
“Someone has gone to the media over this without the committees permission, which has put the club in a difficult position,” it read.
Newcastle councillor and club President Jason Dunn has been contacted for a response.
A Newcastle Council spokesperson said Geotechnical consultants attended Newcastle Pistol Club this week to assess the cliff line above, which sits on Crown Land managed by the City, and will provide a report in coming days.
“Prolonged drought followed by recent heavy rains appear to be behind the movement of rock material,” they said.
“Two of the five pistol ranges remain open and the City will work with the club in coming days to ensure all ranges can continue to operate safely.”