Meet a member: a wood chopping icon

Narrabri’s local newpaper � The Courier � described Philip Melbourne as a �wood chopping icon� after he received a Life Membership for the Wee Waa Show Society and was asked to open the show in 2019.

 The 90-year-old farmer is too modest to accept such a title, preferring to have it pinned to Australian Axemen�s Association Hall of Fame legends like Tasmanian David Foster OAM.

However, many in the north west region of NSW would regard it as an apt title due to Philip�s feats in winning numerous local wood chop competitions and a 77-year dedication to the sport.

Philip first swung the axe in a competition at the Narrabri show in 1938 and chopped away at as many local events as he could until 2015, when a farm injury forced him into retirement.

The Narrabri show society also bestowed a life membership on Philip in 2019 as recognition of his wood chopping efforts, volunteering and enthusiasm to help with stud cattle stewarding and building a new cattle pavilion and yards.

Philip also ventured to the Hunter region to compete and witnessed champions like David Foster at the Royal Easter Show.

�I got to meet David at AgQuip Field Days. I used to go down and see him at every AgQuip for a cup of coffee. One year he gave me a couple of poplar blocks to take home and cut, as we don�t have that wood out here. We mainly use stringy bark and cabbage gum. I went back the next year and he asked if I had cut those blocks and I said � �Yeah, but my good axes did get stuck in them. One of my old axes just loved it!�

An offer to join his granddaughter Julia on a trip to Tasmania three years ago granted Philip the opportunity to catch up with David Foster in his home territory.

�He was a fantastic host. I will never forget it. He even rang us a few times while we were travelling to check if there was anything else he could do for us.�

Philip said he started share-farming at the age of 20 to achieve a dream of owning his own patch of land.

That dream was realised with the purchase of the 310-hectare property called �Merrigum� near Narrabri in 1965. Along with wife Anne they raised four children � daughters Robyn, Margaret and Judith and son James � on the family farm.

Fat lambs and wheat dominated the farm�s output in the early years, but alongside a passion for wood chopping was a keen interest in beef production and to this day, Philip is a proud owner of Poll Hereford herd. 

�I am down to about 70 head now, mainly due to having to cut back during the drought,� he says. �I�ve never seen a drought that was anywhere near it. Every other time there was always a bit of relief in summer or winter, but this time we went six seasons without a break. We sowed oats and we sowed summer crops, and it all died.�

Philip says that last year was a huge improvement. �The cattle look beautiful and the oat crop will produce plenty of feed for the steers,� he says. �But we do have mice. They have destroyed 120 round bales that I had. The hay has been just walking out of the shed!�

If you enjoyed this feature, you might like our story on Thomas Sutcliffe Mort.