IN the Technology Age we currently reside in it’s often forgotten that many daily tasks that are carried out with minimal personal exertion used to hard yakka.
One such job from a bygone era was celebrated and remembered at the Home Hill Showgrounds on Saturday with the Australian Hand Cane Cutting Championships taking place.
Visitors present at the event listened on with a mixture of horror and awe etched across their faces during a break in proceedings as they were regaled with a small piece of local cane history involving an old time cutter who was toiling away one day when he misjudged his strike and sliced his calf off.
Hospital? Nope, he just wrapped his leg up and kept cutting until the end of his shift…then came back the next day with his leg stitched up and continued work, they were a different breed back then.
The fascinated crowd watched on as the competitors cut through their four bays of cane each over five events through the day before the grand final which saw the top eight competitors from all age groups face off.
Visitors learned that is a real art to hand cane cutting which is why precision is just as high a priority as speed when it comes to judging the best of the best.
Cane that is laid poorly or not cut close enough to the ground leads to penalties, which is why the well-practiced, deft hand of soon to be 76 year old Lawrence Zumaran led to him prevailing over people half his age in the crowd favourite Kevin Swindley Memorial Cup event.
The win marked the third straight year Mr Zumaran has won the Memorial Cup which is only open for local cutters to take part in.
In the age divisions Adam Gilbert won the under-35s, Karl Vass took out the 35-55 Year division, and Enzo Codega prevailed in the over-55 section.
In the grand final it was Adam Gilbert who prevailed with Anthony Felesina coming in runner-up and Frank Covolo placing third.
Other events dotted throughout the day included cane races and relays for kids, ladies and men and a cut, top and load race which saw teams of four cutting for glory.
Event coordinator Tonia Rossato said she was very happy with how the day unfolded.
“We had a great turnout for the Championships with locals coming out to have a look as well as many out-of-town visitors,” she said.
“It’s great to see there is such keen interest in the ways things used to be done, cane wasn’t always cut from the seat of a harvester.”
“I’d like to say a big thank you to all our sponsors and a special thank you to Doug Chappell, without the cane he grew for the event we wouldn’t be here today.”
For a photo gallery from the Championships click on the photo below.
Full results were as follows:
Kevin Swindley Memorial Cup
1 - Lawrence Zumaran 12:08:03
2 - Karl Vass 12:08:97
3 - John Arrate 12:44:87
4 - Tony Felesina 13:05:22
5 - Mark Vass 16:37:07
6 - Nathan Swindley 22:43:63
Grand Final
1 - Adam Gilbert 18:07:00
2 - Anthony Felesina 20:39:10
3 - Frank Covolo 22:37:25
4 - Paul Donnelly 23:03:97
5 - Karl Vass 23:05:84
6 - Enzo Codega 23:08:66
7 - Arthur Woods 25:40:00
8 - Lawrence Zumara - resigned
Cut, top and load relay
1 - Paul Donnelly, Enzo Codega, Anthony Felesina and Tony Felesina
2 - Lawrence Zumaran, John Guglielmi, Frank Covolo and Karl Altman
3 - Karl Vass, John Arrate, One Dog and Mark Vass
4 - Luke Gilbert, Scott Gilbert, Adam Gilbert and Stuart Gilbert
Under-35 Years
1 - Adam Gilbert 13:35:72
2 - Chris Vass 14:54:41
3 - Scott Gilbert 15:17:16
4 - Mark Vass 16:33:75
5 - Luke Gilbert 21:03:85
6 - Karl Altman 26:06:00
35-55 Years
1 - Karl Vass 11:17:06
2 - Arthur Woods 12:37:54
3 - Anthony Felesina 12:58:12
4 - One Dog 13:21:10
5 - Tony Felesina 13:37:63
6 - John Arrate 14:27:69
7 - Stuart Gilbert 16:28:81
8 - John Guglielmi 20:34:85
Over-55 Years
1 - Enzo Codega 11:12:94
2 - Paul Donnelly 11:37:34
3 - Frank Covolo 12:13:10
4 - Lawrence Zumaran 12:24:13
5 - Oli Pozzebon - DNF
