Caramut

Caramut /ˈkærəmət/ is a town in the Western District of Victoria, Australia on the Hamilton Highway. It is in the Shire of Moyne local government area and the federal Division of Wannon.

Caramut Victoria
Caramut
Coordinates	37°57′S 142°31′E
Population	246 (2016 census)[1]
Postcode(s)	3274
Location	55 km (34 mi) N of Warrnambool 33 km (21 mi) NW of Mortlake 24 km (15 mi) SE of Penshurst
LGA(s)	Shire of Moyne
State electorate(s)	Polwarth
Federal division(s)	Wannon

The name "Caramut" is believed to be derived from the Aboriginal word cooramook, thought to mean "plenty of possums".^[2]

At the 2006 census, Caramut and the surrounding area had a population of 392.^[1] At the 2016 census, Caramut and the surrounding area had a population of 246.^[3]

History

There is evidence that Aboriginal people had established a village of domed huts near Caramut before white settlement. The Protector of Aborigines, George Augustus Robinson, produced drawings^[4] of structures in the area circa 1840.

In 1839 the Caramut area was first settled by John Muston as a pastoral run.

In 1842, the Lubra Creek massacre of six Dhauwurd wurrung people took place on the Caramut run, leased by Thomas Osbrey and Sidney Smith at the time.^{[5][6][7][8][9]}

The Post Office opened on 1 March 1848 as Muston's Creek and was renamed Caramut in 1854.^[10]

Traditional ownership

The formally recognised traditional owners for the area in which Caramut sits are groups within the Eastern Maar peoples,^[11] who are represented by the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC).^[12]

Community

The town has an Australian Rules football team competing in the Mininera & District Football League.

References

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Caramut (State Suburb)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
2. Lee, Jeremy (18 March 2010). "A-Z of the South West number five – Caramut". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
3. "2016 Census QuickStats: Caramut".
4. Memmott, Paul (2007). images reproduced in Gunyah, Goondie and Wurley : the Aboriginal architecture of Australia. University of Queensland Press. ISBN 9780702232459.
5. "Caramut". Victorian Places. Retrieved 4 January 2019.
6. Ian., Clark (1995). Scars in the landscape: a register of massacre sites in Western Victoria, 1803–1859 (PDF). Aboriginal Studies Press. ISBN 0855755954. OCLC 171556239. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
7. Williams, E., 1984. Documentation and Archaeological Investigation of an Aboriginal 'Village 'Site in South Western Victoria. Aboriginal History, pp.177.
8. Clark, Ian D (1989), Profiles of six significant Aboriginal massacre sites in Western Victoria : Murderers Flat, the Convincing Ground , Fighting Hills, Fighting Waterholes, Lubra Creek, Murdering Gully: draft notes, 1989, retrieved 12 July 2020
9. "Lubra Creek, Caramut Station". Centre For 21st Century Humanities: Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930. University of Newcastle, Australia. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
10. Phoenix Auctions History, Post Office List, retrieved 26 February 2021
11. "Map of formally recognised traditional owners". Aboriginal Victoria. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
12. "Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation". Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation. Retrieved 2 June 2020.