Jason Wynyard, one of the most remarkable sportsmen/athletes ever produced in New Zealand, was preceded by his reputation when he arrived in Kaitaia on Saturday, but even his most ardent fans probably weren't expecting what they witnessed.
The multiple world champion (and current holder of 15 timber sport world records)showed what he could do with a cross saw and an axe, as did his 15-year-old son Tai (who is also a member of the New Zealand under-17 basketball team), but it was the hot saw that stunned the audience gathered for the opening of Kaitaia's Stihl Shop in what used to be Wagener's car yard.
The hot saw was an American innovation, he said, competitors aiming for somewhere between 5.0 and 6.5 seconds to start their saws then make two downward cuts and one upwards in a 16-inch log.
The saw he had built, which would not have been out of place in a Mad Max movie, did it in a tick under five seconds.
For Jason, who works as a Stihl service technician when he isn't competing around the world, Saturday could almost have been a home coming. Now 38, and living with his wife and family in Massey, he recalled winning his first title at a competition at Kaitaia's Collard Tavern, at the age of 15. Since then he has collected more than 200 world titles, and holds New Zealand records in every chopping and sawing discipline.
He will soon be leaving for Germany, where he will defend the world lumberjack title he has held for the last 15 consecutive years.
Meanwhile Johno Brien and Carol Carr, who bought the Kaitaia Stihl Shop in 2007 and have now moved it from Empire St to Commerce St, welcomed a constant stream of people to the new store throughout the day, while the Kaitaia Fire Brigade did a brisk trade in sizzled sausages.
