Sign In / Register
Some of the world’s best axemen will be making their way to Puhoi next month for the annual woodchopping carnival at the Puhoi Pub on Saturday, January 13.
Leading the pack is Jack Jordan, whose many titles include winning the Stihl Timbersports World Trophy for the second year running in the Netherlands in June, and smashing the world record time in the process.
The Taumaranui sheep and beef farmer will be joined by a raft of other world champion choppers, including his elder brother Shane Jordan, as well as local brothers Willy and Nathan McDonald, from Waiuku.
The New Zealand teams and individuals will be joined by two leading axemen from Italy, as well as a good crop of under-21 entrants.
The Puhoi Axemen’s festival is the largest woodchopping event in northern NZ and regularly attracts competitors from around the country, not to mention hundreds of spectators who pack the pub grounds to watch them compete in a carnival atmosphere.
This year’s event will be tinged with sadness, however, as it will be the first festival since the death of woodchopping legend Jason Wynyard, who died aged 49 in October after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer just five months prior.
Members of the nine-times world champion’s family will be making their way to Puhoi to pay tribute to Jason and catch up with his many friends and colleagues keen to pay their respects.
The competition itself will start at 9am and, as ever, will feature a range of classes, from the classic speed events of standing and underhand through to the always impressive springboard tree chop, pairs’ Jack and Jill sawing and the ever-popular axe throwing.
As well as the woodchopping there will be raffles, stalls, plenty of food and drink, and a live band in the evening.
Puhoi pub owner Bernie McCallion said she was looking forward to another hectic day, which this year will include new seating for improved viewing.
“We’re bringing in terraced scaffold seating that will be installed around the grounds,” she said. “We have VIP and sponsors seats and tables along the front and usually everyone else just fits in around, but it gets very congested, so we thought we’d bring in raised seats.”
Plastic cups will be used outside, so glasses won’t be dropped from a height, and the scaffolding will be wrapped, just in case anyone is tempted to try to get underneath it.
As well as the pub’s full food and drink menu, Silverdale’s Local Farmer butchery will be parked outside the pub near The Stables shops, with two huge grills for cooking sliders and specialist sausages. There will also be an ice cream truck for the kids and Hancocks Wines will have not only a beverage stand, but a barber on hand providing haircuts all day.
Once the contest is over and dinner has been served to entrants and VIP guests, pub rockers Curbside Crawl will take to the stage for live music into the night.
This will be McCallion’s third woodchopping carnival since buying the historic pub from long-time owner Gillian Seymour in 2020, and she’s looking forward to it.
“We’ve done plenty of events in the past, but this is different because it’s more local and done with a lot of heart,” she said. “The amount of people who just come in for the woodchopping, it’s quite touching. Everyone is so supportive, the people are lovely.”
