The voice over the tannoy rattles through the arena.
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“Axemen, mark … one, two, three ...”
On three the first racing axe blade bites into a timber round.
As the count rolls on, more axes swing into motion, a steady chorus of thud-thud, woodchips flying through the air.
At 20 seconds the frontrunner lifts their axe and sinks the first blow into the timber.
On the sidelines friends and family shout encouragement and advice.
A timber round, now resembling a neatly-hewed apple core, snaps and falls to the ground.
The thud-thud dies away: the tannoy picks up the narrative. “The 250mm standing handicap final … first, Matthew Arnold, second, Andrew Kelly, third, Mitchell Direen.”
This is Exeter Show, at the woodchopping arena. Competitors help pick up all the fractured pieces of timber and toss them into the back of a truck as officials set up the next heat.
All in white trousers – the standard uniform – the competitors line the arena, some inspecting axes, others noting the improvement of young up-and-comers.
The state title for the 375mm single handed sawing championship is up next: world champion David Foster and his son Stephen are in the race. Saws with grinning teeth bite effortlessly through solid rounds in just a few seconds.
Woodchopping as a sport, legend has it, originated from a bet between two men in an Ulverstone bar in 1870. A Victorian and a Tasmanian went head-to-head for £25, seeing who could fell a tree the fastest: there’s no mention of who won, but considering the strength of the Tasmanian woodchopping community, the answer may be obvious.
That’s according to the Tasmanian Axemen’s Association, the peak organisation running a full season of woodchopping events across the state.
Between 1870 and 1890 a number of contests were held on a wager basis, before Tasmanian H. R. Nichols established the first axemen’s association and laid out official rules in June 1890.
In 1891 the first world championship contest was held at Latrobe: since then, the sport has evolved into a system of handicaps and championships designed to create a fair and entertaining contest.
From October through to April, competitors converge on small country shows, dedicated woodchopping festivals, state, national and international competitions.
Across Tasmania – Launceston to Cygnet, Port Arthur to Ross – woodchoppers take their axes to the arena, bringing with them the echoes of history.
Amanda Beams is secretary of the Northern Tasmanian Axemen’s Association, as well as captain of the national Australian women’s woodchopping team.
A generational woodchopper following in her father’s footsteps, Beams has competed internationally against New Zealand, America and Canada to name a few.
The woodchopping community is close-knit, supportive of newcomers and careful to teach them the right techniques to prevent injury and develop precision and speed.
“It’s like another family,” Beams says.
“All sport, football clubs and things – you become attached as other people become your best mates, and you treat them like family.”
Her husband Dale and sons Daniel and Zack are all woodchoppers, all participating in the day’s events.
“It’s a huge community. We call them woodchoppers in Australia, we’re called lumberjacks in the US and Canada. In Europe you’re lumberjacks as well,” she says.
All around the arena, more than 40 competitors set out their collection of axes, marked with names and capped with bright orange leather sheaths to protect the razor-sharp blades from dulling.
A quality racing axe can cost around $600, and if it’s chipped can only be ground back so many times before it has to be discarded and replaced.
The Beams estimate between them they have around 80 axes, all for different types of wood and classes.
There’s a number of young teenagers here, carrying axes with care while their elders call out instructions and encouragement through each heat.
It’s not long before the white trousers are marked with timber chips and dust.
Even the top competitors, those waiting through their 20 second handicaps, offer some advice to the next generation toiling away beside them.
“When you get good enough to compete here, in your own state, then you go to the mainland to the big shows, like Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane – all those big ones,” Beams says.
“We’ve sort of followed on from our parents, but our generation has really nurtured the young.
“We started with junior chops, and they were competing when they were eight.
“Kody Steers is a perfect example – he’s state champion of champions for the last two years … and he started as a five-year-old cutting underhands.”
At the arena edge an elderly couple set up their camping chairs, settling in to watch the day’s competition.
Rod and Colleen Davey come to Exeter each year to watch the woodchopping: in the 1970s Rod was a competitor in the ring.
“It hasn’t changed much since then,” he says.
Just in front of them, sitting inside the arena checking over an axe blade, is Matthew Mathers, one of the next generation of woodchoppers.
“I thought it was cool, so I looked it up and emailed about it, and found someone to teach me,” he says.
Now, with the help of the Beams, he’s the next generation, carrying on a tradition that harks back to the first days of European settlers in Tasmania.