Chopping title at stake

Press, 4 August 1977, Page 32

Chopping title at stake

Chips will fly furiously In the Ferrymead Tavern’s car park on Saturday afternoon, when the West Coast axemen’s team defends the Lion Challenge Trophy against a fast-chopping Canterbury side. The West Coast comb i n a t i o n won the inaugural contest last year by 12 points to eight, but Canterbury might well reverse the result this time — ironically, because two former national champions from the Coast are in the side. Bill and Joe Curtain are the men concerned, and both are renowned in the bushcraft sport. Bill captained the New Zealand axemen’s team in Sydney several times, and his brother won international honours in rugby league. Both men also played

rugby union, as locks, for West Coast, and Bill went on to win the Coast squash title. On Friday evening they will be in the limelight again, this time in a double-handed sawing duel against the Coasters Ralph Dixon and Marshall Woodhouse. The target will be the New Zealand record of 7.4 sec for a 15in Lombardy poplar log — a mark held by the Curtains. The chopping contest will feature six individual matches in each of two methods — standing and underhand. The teams will be:— Canterbury: W. Curtain, R. Thain. J. J. Curtain, G. Pocock, R. Piezchener, P. Wilson. West Coast: R. Dixon, J. Hunt, D. McLaughlin, C. Jackson, M. Woodhouse, R. Donnelly.