Caramut is a town in the Western District of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia on the

Hamilton Highway Hamilton Highway is a rural highway through the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, linking Geelong and the town of Hamilton. Route Hamilton Highway commences at the intersection of Latrobe Terrace and Portarlington Road in Geel ...

. It is in the

Shire of Moyne The Shire of Moyne is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the south-western part of the state. It covers an area of and at the 2021 ...

local government area and the federal

Division of Wannon Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

. The name "Caramut" is believed to be derived from an Aboriginal word ''cooramook'', thought to mean "plenty of

possum Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum ...

s". At the 2006 census, Caramut and the surrounding area had a population of 392. At the 2016 census, Caramut and the surrounding area had a population of 246.

History

There is evidence that

Aboriginal people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

had established a village of domed huts near Caramut before white settlement. The

Protector of Aborigines The Australian colonies in the nineteenth century created offices involved in managing the affairs of Indigenous people in their jurisdictions. The role of Protector of Aborigines was first established in South Australia in 1836. The role beca ...

George Augustus Robinson George Augustus Robinson (22 March 1791 – 18 October 1866) was an English born builder and self-trained preacher who was employed by the British colonial authorities to conciliate the Indigenous Australians of Van Diemen's Land and the Po ...

, produced drawings of structures in the area

circa Circa is a Latin word meaning "around, approximately". Circa or CIRCA may also refer to: * CIRCA (art platform), in London * Circa (band), a progressive rock supergroup * Circa (company), an American skateboard footwear company * Circa (contempora ...

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 The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal people of southwestern Victoria in Australia. They are the Traditional Owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorpe and Portland. T ...

people took place on the Caramut run, leased by Thomas Osbrey and Sidney Smith at the time. The Post Office opened on 1 March 1848 as Muston's Creek and was renamed Caramut in 1854.

Traditional ownership

The formally recognised

traditional owners Native title is the set of rights, recognised by Australian law, held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups or individuals to land that derive from their maintenance of their traditional laws and customs. These Aboriginal title rig ...

for the area in which Caramut sits are groups within the

Eastern Maar The Eastern Maar people are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples whose traditional lands are in the south-western part of the state of Victoria, Australia. It is a name adopted by a number of Aboriginal Victorian groups who identify as Maar ...

peoples, who are represented by the

Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation The Eastern Maar people are a group of Aboriginal Australian peoples whose traditional lands are in the south-western part of the state of Victoria, Australia. It is a name adopted by a number of Aboriginal Victorian groups who identify as Maar ...

(EMAC).

Community

The town has an

Australian Rules Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

football team competing in the Mininera & District Football League.

References

Towns in Victoria (state) {{VictoriaAU-geo-stub