A South-East pine timber plantation has swooped in and saved a heritage sport and Royal Adelaide Show staple from winding up on the chopping block. Source: The Advertiser
Earlier this month The Royal Adelaide Show signed a deal with OneFortyOne to secure radiata pine for competition logs amid a breakdown of normal supplies.
The supply breakdown stems from timber harvesting grinding to a halt in areas managed by VicForests in November, following court action over the protection of endangered gliders.
The Royal Adelaide Show has traditionally sourced competition logs from Victorian forests and the Victoria Axemen’s Council.
Royal Adelaide Show woodcutting chairman Graeme Hyde said 300 logs had been secured from OneFortyOne.
Mr Hyde said axemen will need to make a small change to their equipment to ensure they do not damage their axes.
“It is different timber — we trialled some blue guy, but that didn’t cut well,” he said.
“The bevel on the axes will have to change to suit the radiata pine to get the chips out. It’s a softer timber but it can be harder to go through in some respects.
“If you hit a knot on radiata pine that is extremely hard.”
Left over stocks of Alpine Ash, also known as Woollybutt, will be used to help saw cutters transition to the different fibre.
Mount Gambier axeman Robert Dowling, a world title holding wood chopping and sawing champion, said it was important they gave sawers more time to transition their equipment.
“While an axe is between $700 to $1000, a saw is about $4000,” he said.
Doubt continues to loom over future Victorian competitions as they struggle to find a suitable supply of competition logs.
Melbourne Royal Show media spokesman Alastair Dwyer said the Victoria Axemen’s Council was still looking for an alternate supply for the show.
“We’re hopeful that we will be having a wood chop competition,” he said.
“Albeit it’s probably going to be at a smaller size in terms of the days that we run it.
“We’re really keen to have the wood chop on show, especially this year given it’s our 175th anniversary.”
Victoria Axemen’s Council president Brad Meyer said they had another four to six weeks to find a supplier or there would be no wood chopping at the Melbourne Show.
“Usually for Adelaide and Melbourne we get our timber into the yards to be trimmed by March, April at the latest,” Mr Meyer said.
Mr Meyer said the council would be monitoring the Royal Adelaide Show and accessing whether the softwood alternative would be suitable in future Victorian events.
It is understood the logs that will be supplied will come from OneFortyOne’s rejected pole log supply and will not impact supplies set aside for structural timber.
