It is safe to say that the Marsh family of Millfield live and breathe woodchopping, so much so that even their family holidays revolve around what local chops they can attend.
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After taking part in the annual Ellalong woodchop in August, the family recently returned from the Adelaide Royal with a swag of ribbons.
Father Noel partnered with eldest son Blake, 21, to finish a close second in the double-handed saw event, with Blake also taking out first place in the combination chop.
Blake was also a member of the NSW team that competed in the relay event, finishing in third place.
Further down the family tree, 16-year-old Cameron placed sixth in the novice standard block event, while 14-year-old Brandon placed fifth overall in the junior round robin, also representing NSW.
Now the family is getting ready to travel to New Zealand where Blake and Noel will compete as part of the NSW team at the Christchurch show in November.
Here, Blake will team up with Kurri woodchopper Mitchell Kirk for the double-handed sawing event, while Noel will contest the single-handed saw category.
Noel said that it is great to see sport of woodchopping growing so much, especially with such a strong representative base from the Cessnock area.
“It just keeps getting bigger and better,” he said.
“It is really important to get the young fellows into it – show them the ropes before I get too old.”
He also said that there is plenty of sibling rivalry, especially between Cameron and Brandon who often compete against each other.
The Marsh family have a string of local competitions over the next few months, including the Wollombi woodchop event on October 25.
Held at the Wollombi Tavern, the annual competition will include underhand, standing block, tree felling as well as single and double-handed sawing events as well as the Neville Craft Memorial Point Score.
