David Foster OAM (born 20 March 1957) is an Australian world champion

woodchopper Woodchopping (also spelled wood-chopping or wood chopping), called woodchop for short, is a sport that has been around for hundreds of years in several cultures. In woodchopping competitions, skilled contestants attempt to be the first to cut or s ...

, and

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n community figure. He has held the World Woodchopping Championship title for 21 consecutive years, and is Australia's most successful athlete and possibly the only athlete in any sport in the world to win over 1000 titles.

Personal life

Foster is married to Jan Foster and has four children. Following his wife's illness, he was forced to quit management of the Australian Axeman's Hall of Fame at Latrobe. In 2014 he announced plans to leave Tasmania following an offer by Camden Council to set up a multimillion-dollar tourist attraction focused on his memorabilia after Tasmanian businesses and government rejected proposals for a similar attraction in Tasmania. However, he remained in Tasmania after being signed as the spokesman for OneCare, a Tasmanian aged care provider.

Athletic career

He started woodchopping with his father, George Foster, in 1978, and between them they won the World 600 mm Double-handed Sawing Championship eleven years straight. He and his brother Peter Foster continued competing and winning this event for another ten years, until 1999, making David a world champion 21 years straight. The pair lost in 2000, but re-gained the championship in 2001, after which David's son Stephen took over as his woodchopping partner. His other achievements in wood chopping include winning the ''Australian Axeman of the Year'' award nine times in a row, winning every major wood chopping event in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, becoming the first person in sporting history to have won 1000 championships, and being the only axeman to have ever won six out of seven championships at the

Sydney Royal Easter Show First held in 1823, the Sydney Royal Easter Show, commonly shortened to The Easter Show or The Show, is an annual show held in Sydney, Australia over two weeks around the Easter period. It comprises an agricultural show, an amusement park and a ...

. The Australian Axeman's Hall of Fame in

Latrobe, Tasmania Latrobe is a town in northern Tasmania, Australia on the Mersey River. It is 8 km south-east of Devonport on the Bass Highway. It is the main centre of the Latrobe Council. At the 2006 census, Latrobe had a population of 2,843. By t ...

, was operated by David Foster and his wife Jan from 2004 until 2006.

Other activities

David Foster is often joined in his charitable quests by Launceston

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

David Boon David Clarence Boon (born 29 December 1960) is an Australian cricket match referee, former cricket commentator and international cricketer whose international playing career spanned the years 1984–1996. A right-handed batsman and a very oc ...

. Both Foster and Boon, as well as then-

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of ...

Jim Bacon, also willingly allowed their famous moustaches to be shaved off for charity. Foster has written a book called ''The Power Of Two''. He is a campaigner for

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, ...

following his daughter coming out to him.

Honours

Foster has received several awards for his cultural, charitable and community activities. These include being awarded an

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

Medal, a commendation from the then

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

Sir Phillip Bennett, and an Anzac Medal for services to the community. He also received a

Tasmanian of the Year Tasmanian of the Year Awards is an award given to the most outstanding Tasmanian in any given year. The Awards are made by the Tasmania Committee Incorporated and is organised and funded with government support. It was first awarded in 1985. The f ...

award in 1995, and was appointed a Director of the National

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

Council in 1998. In 2020, inducted into

Sport Australia Hall of Fame The Sport Australia Hall of Fame was established on 10 December 1985 to recognise the achievements of Australian sportsmen and sportswomen. The inaugural induction included 120 members with Sir Don Bradman as the first inductee and Dawn Fraser t ...

References

External links

David Foster's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, David 1957 births Living people Australian woodchoppers Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia People from Devonport, Tasmania Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees LGBT rights activists from Australia Culture of Tasmania