The National Rifle Association of West Australian (NRAWA) was formed on the 12th of July 1901 and in 1965 changed its name to the West Australian Rifle Association (WARA).

By the early 1900’s civilian rifle clubs were being established as successors to the colonial era Volunteer Corps. The NRAWA was formed to guide and coordinate the growing sport. Its first “Kings” prize meeting was held in 1902 at the Karrakatta Rifle Range.

A parallel “Kings” prize meeting was held by the Goldfields Rifle Association until the competitions were merged in 1911. A review by Lord Kitchener, found that the Karrakatta rifle range was inappropriate and the Osborne rifle range was built for shooting from 1913. Osborne was renamed Swanbourne from 1935.

The NRAWA/WARA was settled at Swanbourne until 2014 when the Department of Defence concluded civilian use of the range. The “Queens” prize meetings moved to Albany until 2017 when the competition moved to the state of the art Pinjar rifle range.The Pinjar range is now home to the WARA.

WARA and its affiliated associations and clubs are frequently at the forefront of the development of the sport. The introduction of F Class (scoped) shooting and electronic targets are underpinning the future of the sport in WA.