![Wood chopping was a major drawcard for spectators at the Cairns Show last year and it is expected to go ahead this year in Cairns. Picture: Emily Barker from FNQ Roar Media. Wood chopping was a major drawcard for spectators at the Cairns Show last year and it is expected to go ahead this year in Cairns. Picture: Emily Barker from FNQ Roar Media.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/217645017/a4585fa5-ac8b-4698-bc97-696a87a5470b.jpg/r0_202_3949_2633_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Wet weather is to blame for the axing of wood chopping competitions at six events in North Queensland this year.
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There has, however, been a last-minute reprieve for the two-day competition at the Cairns Show in July.
Ken Olney of the North Queensland Axemens Association said the main reason for the cancellation of nine days of competition was because it had been too wet and they could not get timber out of the bush.
"People might think 'how wet can it be' but up to a fortnight ago there was still water lying in the paddocks up around Atherton...last year, we got it from Tully, but you'd need a boat to get in there at the moment because it's been that wet down there," he said.
The events and shows where competition has been cancelled include Malanda (two days), Atherton (one), Mareeba Rodeo (two), Malanda Pub (one), Mossman (two) and Tully (one).
Mr Olney said the timber used in wood chopping events included Candlenut, Milky Pine or Brown Beech.
He said in 18 years of being involved in wood chopping this had not happened before where the competition had been cancelled.
"It's never happened before, but there's never been a wet season like it either. Normally, we get the wood out and we've had it done by May...but if you can't get into it (the property) you can't do it," he said.
"We're so limited as to where we get timber from, that's the biggest problem, and when you've only got a small area, what do you do? We can't go into the state forests because no-one will let you in there."
Cairns Show vice president and wood chopping steward Glen Hunter said at this stage they looked like they had secured about 200 logs of Candlenut wood from Ingham for their wood chopping two-day competition.
He said he only found out last Thursday about the wood not happening and was contacting all the wood chopping competitors from down south to see if they were going to do the run north.
"Because they haven't got the other six or seven events, they may not want to come up...but if we get enough competitors we will definitely have it," he said.
"But it looks like at this stage it will be running, I'm 90 per cent sure it's going to happen at the Cairns Show. We definitely want to get it to run...even if we only get 10 choppers there."
Mr Hunter said the number of competitors in the wood chopping at Cairns could vary from 15 to 30 normally.
"Around the 15 to 20 is what we usually get," he said.
"It's definitely a drawcard (for spectators)."
The Cairns Show is on July 17-19.