Evergreen axemen show age no barrier at Horowhenua AP & I Show

Experienced axemen (from left) Nev Bowen, 72, Graham Rasmussen, 72, and Terry Wilkins, 79, all competed at the Horowheua AP & I woodchopping competition.

The performance of a trio of axemen all aged in their 70s at the Horowhenua AP & I Royal Show at the weekend would leave much younger men in their wake.

Between them, Ōtaki’s Graham Rasmussen, Tauranga’s Nev Bowen and Taradale’s Terry Wilkins have more than 150 years of experience in the sport and the chips were flying once they took starter’s orders.

Their paths have often crossed at different events over the years, such as the annual Levin show. The next day all three men travelled to compete at the annual Ōhingaiti Sports Day.

Rasmussen, 72, took up woodchopping in his early 20s at the invitation of a mate and has been a member of the Ōtaki Axemen and Women’s Club ever since.

“I got hooked. I’ve been doing it ever since,” he said.

It was the start of a woodchopping dynasty for the Rasmussens, with son Hayden and granddaughter Ruby also avidly involved in the sport.

Junior woodchoppers Blake Unsworth, 9, Caiden Strother, 8, Ruby Rasmussen, 12, and Rereahu Schnider, 10, all competed at the Levin AP & I Show last year.

“It’s a wee bit harder than it looks, you know,” Graham Rasmussen said. “It takes a little bit of time to learn how to hit it right, but you stick at it and keep going.

“I hope to keep going. You never know what’s around the corner, though.”

It has been a case of have axe, will travel. Woodchopping has taken Rasmussen all over New Zealand, to Australia and parts of the UK.

“The sport is big in Australia,” he said.

Wilkins, 79, was 22 when he started. He was a keen rugby player at the time and when he hung up his boots he kept chopping wood competitively.

“It’s been a great sport because you meet some tremendous people,” he said.

“And I enjoy it. We always had an axe. I still split firewood for the family because I enjoy doing it.”

Bowen, 72, has been chopping for 53 years.

“You have to be reasonably fit,” he said. “You have to keep at it. You don’t want to stop for too long.”

Tauranga axeman Nev Bowen in action at the Horowhenua AP & I Show.

There was good camaraderie on the competition circuit, he said. He had invited local axemen and women to compete at competitions in Tauranga and was happy to reciprocate.

One competition was held inside the Mount Maunganui RSA.

“We cleared the dance floor,” he said. “Have a look at it on YouTube.”