Furlyn Barrett was five years old when he was given his first axe.
“We chopped about every little branch and shrub and tree around in the yard,” he said.
“In those days, you just learnt from people showing you how to chop when you were old enough to throw an axe around.”
Barrett comes from a long line of axemen — his dad, uncles, and 22 cousins have all been part of the competitive sport.
He’s also continuing the legacy in his own family, with all four of his children travelling the country competing in woodchopping events at agricultural shows.
Furlyn Barrett comes from a long line of axemen. (ABC North Qld: Gabrielle Becerra Mellet)
His daughter Takiah, 24, has represented the Australian women’s team and recently won the women’s underhand world title championship in Sydney.
His son Awatea, 20, last year won the national timber sports rookie championship in Melbourne.
“It’s a very proud moment to watch my kids chop and keep that legacy going that I’ve done for my parents,”
Barrett said.
Now a veteran of the sport, Barrett, who is based in the tropical Queensland city of Mackay, said he was trying to keep agricultural shows running by sourcing wood for competitions, like those at this weekend’s Townsville show.
Standing blocks, underhand, tree-felling, and open-sawing events all make up the show’s woodchopping schedule, with about 20 axe competitors vying for glory.
“Queensland has some very hard wood, so you don’t want to be chopping those,” Barrett said.
“We source woods that are not protected, that have no monetary value at all.”
Takiah Barrett won the women’s underhand world title at the Sydney Royal Easter Show this year. (ABC North Qld: Gabrielle Becerra Mellet)
Takiah said she wouldn’t change anything about her family being involved in woodchopping.
“We give each other a bit of competition as well and courage to get through the log,” she said.
Generational sport
Woodchopping is one of Australia’s oldest sports and is a staple of rural shows around the country.
Queensland Axemen’s Association judge Sue Campbell said while spectator numbers never waned, the number of competitors was decreasing.
Sue Campbell says axes are expensive and may be a contributing factor to low competitor numbers. (ABC North Qld: Gabrielle Becerra Mellet)
Ms Campbell said the cost of living could be contributing to a lull in numbers.
“It’s a very expensive sport,” she said.
“The axe is worth about $1,000, if not more.
“Some of [the competitors] would have 70 of them, 80 of them.”
This year’s Townsville show will see about 20 woodchoppers competing. (Supplied: Takiah Barrett)
Ms Campbell said travel could also be an issue, with competitors required to frequently move to different woodchopping circuits.
But she said woodchopping would never truly die out, as competitors often came from families that had been involved in the sport for generations.
“We only have one [competitor] that I’ve known of in the past 10 or 15 years that has come into the sport and had no connection to woodchopping at all,” she said.
“It’s always grandads, or ‘My uncle did it’.
“Give us another five or six years and we’ll have a big influx again of the next generation coming through.”
Sue Campbell says woodchopping is often embedded in generations of families. (Supplied)
Ms Campbell said back injuries were common, alongside the occasional cut.
“Some of those logs of hardwood will cut through in 23 seconds, and they’re really powering through it,” she said.
“It’s a really strenuous sport, and it’s hard on the body.”
Ms Campbell said some agricultural shows set up woodchopping schools before competitions started to encourage more people to enter the sport.
“We’re proud of our circuit up here and we’re proud of our chopping up here,” she said.
“It’s a fantastic sport and a fantastic community.”
