He won a heat on Friday – despite a slight wind making it more challenging than usual to light a fire. 

“it was fairly trying to get the fire going, that little bit of wind got in the way and played a part in getting the fire to start; last year I did it considerably faster,” Mr Taylor said. 

“On a fine day without the wind the fire would start a lot quicker.”

Mr Taylor said competitors had to work with the conditions and strategy played a role in the overall outcome. 

He cut the block of wood to make the fire and then cut two large squares to hold the billy. As the fire took hold he built it around the billy. 

He also spent a lot of time fanning the fire to make it heat the billy more quickly. 

“You need to be able to cut the chips fairly small to start the fire and get the billy off the ground for it to boil quickly,” Mr Taylor said.

He boiled the billy in eight minutes during the 2017 competition but on Friday the best time he could manage in the 1.30pm heat on Friday 10 minutes and 51 seconds. 

Harry Ford took out second with 11 minutes and 30 seconds, Antony Brooks was third with 19 minutes and 34 seconds and Andy Dmytryk was fourth with 20 minutes and 48 seconds.

“It’s part of our history, there was no thermos back then so they had to carry a billy on their saddle and when they wanted to have a cup of tea this is what they had to do,” Mr Taylor said.