Ewen Pirie (Kapuka)

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to clay target shooting

For fifth generation dairy farmer Ewen Pirie, of Kapuka, receiving the letter telling him he would be appointed to be a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit was one of "emotion" after a life-long passion and commitment to the sport of clay-target shooting. 

Mr Pirie said he followed the sport from his father, becoming a member of the New Zealand Clay Target Association in 1960 at the age of 13.

Since then he found success as a competitive shooter, winning national titles, and later becoming extensively involved in the administrative side of the sport within New Zealand and globally.

In the early 80s Mr Pirie was appointed the sole South Island Referees Examiner by the New Zealand Clay Target Association and has held roles in the NZCTA as an executive member, vice president, and president. 

He was involved in forming, and was president of, the International Clay Target Shooting Federation (ICTSF) and establishing a set of international rules for the hosting of this event. ICTSF World Championships are now hosted by member countries every two years. 

Mr Pirie has also been President of the New Zealand Shooting Federation (NZSF) since 2012, and became President of the Oceania Shooting Federation in 2017.

But if told at the age of 13 he would go on to accomplish so much for the sport, his response would have been a simple "dream on".

Looking back at a more than 50-year involvement with clay target shooting, Mr Pirie said one of his proudest moments was watching one of his sons win a national title, along with many treasured moments he said were hard to describe. 

In addition to clay target shooting, Mr Pirie also spent more than a decade in local government and is chairman of the Waituna Liaison Committee.