Most local residents already know that the tiny township of Chute on the Beaufort to Amphitheatre road was the birth-place of Cyril Callister, the inventor of Vegemite, after all road signs at each end of the town proclaim it as such, but what other interesting facts lie in the history of this historic gold mining area?

Some would know of the intermittent camps established during World War two in the bush just north of Chute where people of Italian background were sent to ensure the safety of our country. Only a few fruit trees and concrete foundation blocks remain scattered through the bush to indicate that the camps ever existed. They may also know of how the road through the bush was formed by pushing some of the old wine shanty bottle dumps into the foundations.

Others would know that Chute was formerly known as Charlton, however the name was changed to Chute on 1^st September 1879 when the population of just over 100 people were persuaded (by whom?) to change the town’s name due to postal confusion arising between the more populous Charlton on the Avoca River. (Formerly called Charlton East until its name was changed… also in 1879)

If you had researched Major Mitchell’s expedition in 1836, you might know that he and his party travelled through what was to become Chute in 24^th September 1836 after climbing Mount Cole, and that they noticed many flowering greenhood orchids on the way through.

Few people however, would know that Frederick John Jenkins was the Head Teacher of the Chute School in 1914, before he enlisted for the Great War in January 1915. He saw action in Gallipoli, France and Belgium where he was awarded a Military Medal and a Military Cross for his bravery and for ‘setting a splendid example for his men’. He was wounded in action twice, but eventually returned to teaching in Carlton, Melbourne.

By reading the books Vison & Realisation you would see that the Chute School (No. 902) was constructed in 1866 at a cost of 120 pounds which was raised through public subscription. It closed on 31^st December 1938 with only seven pupils (Who were they?) and the building was then transported to Glen Dhu on the Crowlands to Landsborough Road where it was used until it closed from lack of students on 31^st August 1949. (What happened to it after that? Where are the school records and memorabilia?) The school block was sold by the Education department on 13^th May 2000.

Chute is now a rural community based on farming, with the exception of Pyrenees Timber Industries which started out as a portable mill cutting posts from the bush for a government contract. The business has been in the Crick family for many years and is the only remaining saw mill of many that operated in Chute in the early years.

Aside from an existing external kitchen at the rear of the house on the opposite corner, probably the only other original building left in Chute is what is marked down on an 1874 map as Thomas Downies Hotel & Store (Later the Charlton and then the Chute Hotel). It is now a private residence on the corner of the Amphitheatre / Chute- Waterloo Road. The original wooden shingles are still in place under the roofing iron. Charles Loft, one of the previous owners of this hotel was a Justice of the Peace and a professional photographer. (Do some of his photos still exist today?)

Many of the other houses and buildings in Chute have been either removed from or relocated to the town or constructed after the gold rush period.

Author Hugh Carroll has begun research for a book on the history of Waterloo and Chute. Following a number of community meetings where a great deal of interesting memorabilia was shared, a Steering Committee has been formed under the Waterloo Community Group which has commenced regular meetings at the Beaufort Historical Society. The Community Group has developed a web page as well as being on Facebook. We are regularly updating the site with new photos and information that we are searching for.

or on facebook "Waterloo Book".