Newton McConochie Award - For the Most Outstanding Young Deerstalker of the Year Proudly Sponsored by Hunters Element
| Winner | Branch |
| Ewan Bawden | North Canterbury |
Recommendation from North Canterbury
Ewan Bawden has been hunting since his dad first took him out rabbit shooting when he was 7 years old. He didn’t take long to graduate to game animals when he shot his first three deer in Arthurs Pass with a 7mm 08 rifle at the age of 8. Ewan joined the New Zealand Deerstalkers Association, along with his mother, father and sister, in August 2018 and has, in the past two years especially, become a very active member of the Branch.
Ewan has passed his qualification to become an NZDA Range Officer and serves as a Range Officer at Public and Club Range Days at least three times a year. Ewan’s knowledge of firearms, optics and ballistics (Ewan is reloading his own ammunition) is very impressive for such a tender age and he is happy to volunteer that knowledge to Branch members and members of the public, as required, on the range.
Ewan is currently training to become a HUNTS Instructor and has assisted on the North Canterbury HUNTS Course for the last two years. Ewan has been an enthusiastic participant in the course. In his own words, one of his hunting highlights was on the 2024 HUNTS Course: “I led a girl named Hannah up Ben McLeod Station. She used all her knowledge from the course to shoot her 1st big game animal, a nanny Tahr. She then used her newly acquired butchery skills to butcher the animal. This was a moment I will never forget being a part of her successful hunt. Even though I carried everything up and down the hill seeing the smile on her face made it worth it”.
Ewan assisted his father, Scott, in the organisation and running of a Club Hunt into the Lake Sumner Recreational Hunting Area in early 2025, when 10 fellow branch members had the opportunity to drive into the Hope Kiwi Hut and take part in a game animal management hunt in this important area in the North Canterbury Branch’s “catchment”. He is assisting with a planned Club Hunt into the same area via Jet Boat later in 2025.
Ewan also took part in the recent Club Hunt into the Jollie River where he helped two new Branch members from Nepal, Nabin and Padam, in taking their first deer. He also threw in a hillside butchery lesson to boot.
Ewan has displayed outstanding hunting skills for such a young man and has the attitude, drive and fitness to keep looking into the next catchment for that elusive deer, chamois or tahr. In the aforementioned Club Hunt into the Jollie River, he shot and packed out three deer and two tahr over the course of two days in alpine terrain. A very impressive display that was commented on favourably by all participants on the hunt.
Ewan entered a Tahr head in the 2024 NZDA National Antler, Horn and Tusk Competition and was awarded third equal place in the Poverty Bay Branch Trophy – Best Game Animal Shot by a Junior Under 19 section.
Coupled with all of the above, Ewan has contributed to the upkeep of the North Canterbury Branch’s clubrooms and ranges by being a regular participant in Branch working bees during his membership.
Ewan is a hardworking, well liked, dedicated member of the North Canterbury Branch and we, as a Branch, are proud to put his name forward for this award.