Kammerlader firearm

The Kammerlader (1842-1870), or "chamber loader", was the first Norwegian breech-loading rifle, and among the first breech loaders adopted for use by an armed force anywhere in the world. A single-shot black-powder rifle, the kammerlader was operated with a crank mounted on the side of the receiver. This made it much quicker and easier to load than the weapons previously used. There seems to have been made a total of some 40 000 kammerlader (chamber loaders) in the years from 1842 to 1870, spread over more than 80 version and variations. The firearm uses paper cartridges and seperate percussion caps. It was a transitionary technology towards breech loading metal cartridges.

Kammerlader firearms were primarily used by the Western Australian Police Force and military volunteers in Western Australia during the mid-19th century. This firearm was likely used by a member of a volunteer defence unit who became a member of a civilian rifle club upon disbandment of unit after Federation. A shortage of rifles in the early 1900s for civilian use may have encouraged the owner to buy the firearm.