Tablelands legend Martin Conole is still as keen to grip an axe handle now as he was when he first brought one down on a block of wood midway through the 1900s.
But these days, the 90-year-old is more likely to be found imparting his wealth of knowledge to a new generation of woodchoppers than wielding an axe with any great force.
He has competed all over Australia, including for 60 consecutive years at the Malanda Show, and is the only surviving original member of the North Queensland Axemen's Association.
Mr Conole started his woodchopping career in 1952 when he competed at The Butchers Creek Sports Day and won his first novice 12-inch standing block.
Mr Conole, who grew up on a dairy farm in Tarzali, on Queensland's Tablelands, said his love of woodchopping came from his brother-in-law.
"My eldest sister married a contract scrub faller and through him I just fell in love with axes," he said.
"I never really learned how to chop or took lessons, I just picked up tips along the way and I now have bags of ribbons at home."
'Not just about chopping wood'
Mr Conole still regularly turns up at local agricultural shows to watch the woodchopping and pass on a few tips.
"I help them with their marking and their technique — it's not just about the chopping of the wood," he said.
He was inducted into the Australian Axeman's Hall of Fame in 2016.
"When I first started competing, choppers would make their own axe," he said.
"Now they can make precision axes in a factory that are precious ground.
He said it was really important to have the right axe.
"I love making axes, sharpening them and making a handle from scratch and then winning a chop with it, that gives me great satisfaction."
Mr Conole represented Australia in a trans-Tasman tournament and competed at the Royal Adelaide show 21 times.
"I did not win every time I went there [Adelaide], but I did win a lot," he said.
"In 1961 I won a chainsaw that was worth 130 pounds.
He said he was able to "set himself up" with the prize.
"With that chainsaw I got work sawing the banks of the Gillies Highway," he said.
Fears for a 'dying art'
Mr Conole said he feared for the future of the sport he loved.
"Nobody is promoting it, woodchopping is a dying art," he said.
"With all the regulations and insurance, it is becoming harder to compete.
"They need to get kids interested in woodchopping, they should introduce it as a sport at schools."
Handicapper and log master at the Malanda Show, Brendan Wildsot, said it was important to the community for Mr Conole to attend local agricultural shows.
"He as chopped here for over 60 years as well as competing in Brisbane and Adelaide — whether he is chopping or not he is part of the fabric of the shows," he said.
Mr Conole and his wife were also honoured when they officially opened the Malanda Show last weekend.
"It is fitting to have such wonderful people addressing our community during the opening ceremony," Malanda Show Society manager Kate Stokes said.
