Foster Family - Legends of Woodchop Bush Tele Feature

On the twentieth anniversary of the death of international woodchopping legend George Foster, the Sydney Royal Easter Show hosted the George Foster Memorial World Championship Double Handed Sawing.

Yesterday his son and grandson, David and Stephen Foster, competed for Foster family glory.

David Foster has established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of woodchopping. He is the only person in sport to have won over 1,000 competitions, including 186 World Titles.

Taking after his father, David was interested in the axe from an early age.

“I naturally followed in my father’s footsteps, and the first World Championship I ever won was with my dad,’’ he said.

Rumour has it that the first ever woodchopping competition was held between two axemen in Tasmania in 1870, betting on who could first fell a tree. Fast forward 150 years, and Tasmanians are still among the best in the world.

“I won the World Title on Saturday, and it’s one of the hardest sports in the world,’’ said David.

David took the One Handed Sawing World Title at the age of 55 on Saturday, and then proceeded to win the Jack and Jill competition with daughter Janelle.

“She’s had a lot of practice ever since she was a kid,’’ he said. “She sawed with me, with her brother and with her other ‘pop’. My wife’s father is also a woodchopper, so she’s had practice with everyone.’’

The first time in history that a father and son ever won the Double Handed Competition was in 1979 by George and David Foster. They won the title eleven times straight. This year, exactly 33 years after the first win, David was at the same Show, competing for the same title, with a son of his own.

Stephen Foster started chopping wood when he could barely walk. At three years old, he was swinging around a little tomahawk, just like his father, and grandfather.

“I won my first competition when I was six years old, in Davenport,’’ said Stephen. “The first time my dad and I both won, I was 13 years old in a novice competition.’’

Unfortunately for the Fosters, two teams from NSW and New Zealand took a shared first place in the Double Handed World Championship at 19.49 seconds. It was the first time two teams shared the first place. Steven Kirk and Justin Beckett of NSW shared the stage with Adam Lowe and John Aitkie of NZ.