Did you know how wood/lumbar chopping commenced in Australia?
The modern sport of woodchopping is said to have had its genesis in 1870 in Ulverstone, Tasmania, Australia, as the result of a $50.00AUD bet between two axeman as to who could first fell a tree. An alternative origin story comes from the 16th century Basque Country (that would be in Spain), in which a man ran a marathon and chopped ten logs to be allowed to propose to his future wife.
The world's first woodchopping championship was held in 1891, at Bells Parade, Latrobe, Tasmania (a blog post of mine is here ) This event was celebrated and commemorated with the selction of the site to be home of the Australian Axemen's Hall of Fame and Timberworks which I have not got a photo of.
Woodchopping events in Australia are generally run in conjunction with Agricultural shows.
A link to a great Tasmanian woodchopper, interesting read.
Something
ReplyDeletesimilar in
Básque
Country .
I thought as much seeing it's mentioned in the post, I thought they may have done it too.
DeleteUp in Montana and Wyoming I suppose...Nothing local. Cool photo!
ReplyDeletehugs
Donna
Probably in certain areas it's done Donna. Thank you.
DeleteMa dai che bello, non conoscevo questa storia e non sapevo neanche ci fossero i campionati mondiali di taglio della legna
ReplyDeleteWell there you are, it's amazing what we read on other people's blogs. 😎
DeleteHello Margaret,
ReplyDeleteWhat a great sport is this for real strong men. That's fantastic!!
Nice picture.
Many greetings,
Marco
Yes, you have to be fit and strong, Marco.
DeleteThank you.
Someone needed a lot of wood and had a brilliant idea. We'll make it a competition!
ReplyDeleteThat's true Sandi, also some people would bet on 2 flies crawling up a wall.
DeleteInteresting stories.
ReplyDelete: )
Thanks Catarina.
DeleteThis morning I did some woodchopping too, but with a dumbbell...and that's a pretty job.
ReplyDeleteGood on you 😎
DeleteDefinitely a community man - which is lovely to see. Thanks for the story.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
DeleteMy mother had an uncle who was a woodchopping champion
ReplyDeleteDid she! Woodchopping was very popular once, but not so much now down here, Jo-Anne.
DeleteOh wow.. thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome.
DeleteIt is quite interesting to watch. I remember years ago on a tv show about AFL football, they used to have a woodchopping competition each week in the studio.
ReplyDeleteMy goodness Andrew, that goes back a long way as I do recall it myself.
DeleteThey sure are strong blokes - you wouldn't like to get into an argument
ReplyDeletewith one of them - you might find yourself on top of a tree - dangling with a very bloody nose!
No snake report, mother duck sits patiently on her 15 eggs and a grill will be put over the drain when the duckling arrive. So all good on that front. Takes 30 days for duck eggs to hatch.
Damn windy and cold here. My version of cold !!!!
Cheers
Colin
Yes, Colin, large fellows, the one in the link used to eat a large amount of potatoes apparently. He is just a big bloke.
DeleteLook after the duck, and will want to know how they are getting along, it's thoughtful the drain will be covered when the little ones come along.
Sunny here and cool breeze too.
Uy no sabía que era un deporte. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteYes it is and has been for a very long time but I guess for those who cop wood for their fires may not of known this..
DeleteIt's a skill to be admired but I'm not a fan. I'm surprised they don't wear goggles to protect their eyes from flying chips.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonder they don't wear goggles, but who knows they may in the future seeing everything has to be 'correct' these days.
DeleteI'm not a fan of woodchopping though I have stopped and watched it many times when going to shows which we don't go to now, R.
I love competitive sports and watch hockey, tennis, football, cricket and athletics. But woodchopping looks too macho, sweaty and rugged.
ReplyDeleteNot my cup of tea to watch woodchopping, Hels, have watched it in the past of course as it was there when we walked by at the shows.
DeleteI watch tennis, cricket, not so much football only towards the grand final as of now.
Margaret
Deleteis it true that Tassie is finally getting its own AFL team?
Have sent you an email regarding this.
DeleteI know my lumbar would be sore if I did that---- Sorry, I couldn't resist. Don't hit me. Look like a fun time.
ReplyDeleteLOL, Bill, I couldn't resist that either 😎I think we all would have that problem.
DeleteA very interesting sport that I didn't know about. You need skill and a lot of strength.
ReplyDeleteGreat photo!
Yes, Maria, good power in the arms and shoulders I should imagine.
DeleteEn tu fotografía, se aprecia el gran esfuerzo que cada uno de los participantes, tienen que hacer para tratar de ganar la competición.
ReplyDeleteFeliz domingo de descanso.
Thank you. Yes, good strength is certainly required and it's good to watch these men go as fast as they can with clean cuts.
DeleteNot something I have heard of before, but probably early woodsmen in Canada devised contests of this type to demonstrate their prowess.
ReplyDeleteWell they could have done in your area way back. I guess many urban people would not have heard of it, David.
DeleteHow interesting such event sound
ReplyDeleteMust be fun to see dear Margaret
I only see wood chopping in movies or shows
What you say would be true of many people Baili in many cities and towns, as mostly there is no wood to begin with.
DeleteI have never heard of the wood chopping competition before, it sounds interesting. Thanks for sharing Margaret :)
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, and it's another sport that suits some areas and people and not others.
DeleteI didn't know chopping wood was a sport.
ReplyDeleteYou have to be strong for it I think.
Greetings Irma
Oh yes Irma, strength and quickness would be the key to being a good woodchopper. It's classed as a sport in many places in this world, but wood chopping is necessary if you have an open fire or a fire of that type.
DeleteInteressante Wettbewerbe gibt es auch bei uns war aber noch nie dabei.
ReplyDeleteGruß
Noke
Oh really Noke, that's good to know and it's not everyone's sport as to their liking.
DeleteI enjoyed watching them at the Sydney Easter show when I was a teenager. Great post.
ReplyDeleteThank you Diane. I used to watch them too when I/we went to the shows.
DeleteIt’s wild to think that woodchopping started with a $50 bet in Tasmania !
ReplyDeleteA really fascinating sport that I had no idea about!
Thanks for sharing, Margaret!
You are welcome, Veronica. Many first began in Tasmania, Australia.
DeleteI shall enjoy that link, thank you Margaret. Great photo!
ReplyDeleteThanks Denise, enjoy.
DeleteThanks for fun and interesting event that you post here. They are so strong and skillfull...Greetings
ReplyDeleteSo many different sports these days.
DeleteVery interesting post. I had no idea it could be considered a sport
ReplyDeleteGreetings and I invite you to see my new painting
Yes, another sport to be added to the category of 'sport'.
DeleteWow, tough sport!
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed Ashok.
DeleteThat's a really interesting species. I've watched that sport on TV.
ReplyDeleteHave you indeed Anne, probably more interesting watching it in person.
DeleteInteresting to read about. I remember watching loggers cut wood and they were timed by the clock. Fastest person would be the winner. It was on Wide World of Sports back in the 60s and very popular.
ReplyDeleteYes that's correct, by the clock. We don't seem to hear that much about the sport these days.
DeleteIt’s fascinating to hear about the origins of woodchopping in Australia and its ties to early competitive events. The story of the $50 bet in Tasmania and the historical link to the Basque Country adds such depth to the sport’s history. The Australian Axemen's Hall of Fame sounds like a fantastic place to explore this heritage. Thanks for sharing this interesting tidbit! Happy new week. Read my new blog post: https://www.melodyjacob.com/
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how some of these sports get started in the first place.
DeleteThis was interesting to read.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure I have seen something similar on television ... quite a while ago now.
You have to be strong and fit to do this.
All the best Jan
Strength I'm sure is the key Jan.
DeleteI would totally go to that event! We even find ourselves watching it on TV sometimes. Those lumberjacks are jacked! The forearm strength to do that is incredible.
ReplyDeleteDedicated men that do that, and lots of strength.
DeleteSí, en el País Vasco, España, se hacen competiciones así, cortando troncos. Muchos vascos emigraron a Australia y puede que quedara algo de eso. Besos.
ReplyDeleteThat could have been Teresa. Interesting.
DeleteInteresting, I sometimes catch a competition on tv and find it fascinating. I particularly like the one where they're on a wooden plank and cut another notch in a tall pole and move the wooden plank up. Don't know how they do it.
ReplyDeleteSandy's Space
Oh yes, know that one two, interesting to see them climb up and not fall off.
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