Some time ago, Celia at http://celiasbluecottage.blogspot.com asked about a photo I posted on my blog.
The question about “that concrete creation with the message on it,” sent me on a quest of an old photo of the area.
This section of shoreline is known locally as the Shooting Gallery Shore. I didn’t know the original purpose or design of the structure which had been there or how its concrete remains, which now sit a few metres from the sea, fit into the original structure. Recently an old photo discovered by a friend on a local Facebook group shed some light on the original design.
The area was the site of the Rifle Range opened in 1913. The Canadian Government opened such ranges around the country after the Boer War. Canadians, in support of the British, fought in South Africa during that war and the largely voluntary force lacked marksmanship skills. After the war, the Government established the ranges to improve those skills among the population.
In Summerside, the federal government bought land along the shoreline and established a rifle range of 1000 yards to help militia and private citizens with these skills. The range was in operation until the late 1930s, when a Air Force base was established nearby during the Second World War.
In the intervening years, the area of the range has fallen into the sea as coastal erosion claimed much of it.
View of the shoreline from the top of the concrete wall
All that remains is the part of a concrete wall where men stood between concrete dividers to take aim.
Today, rock revetment assists in preventing further erosion along the shoreline in the harbour.
The old photo, taken in 1939, was near the end of the life of the rifle range. What will this area look like in another hundred years? It is a scary thought.
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