At the wood chop arena, chips of wood will be flying everywhere and men lovingly sharpening their axe heads.

“Rumour has it that woodchopping started in Tasmania in 1870 when two blokes had a bet about who was the best axe man and could fall a tree first.

From its humble beginnings, woodchopping has gone worldwide but in Australia it is still connected to the agricultural shows where it originated.

With axes sharp enough to shave a beard and money on the line, the wood choppers aren’t messing around, constantly evaluating their swing and the wood. Participants are referred to as axemen.

The crowd’s enjoyment of the sheer brute force of man and axe can’t be beaten.