Dirty Butter Creek - Araluen Valley History

A map of Araluen highlighting the location of Dirty Butter Creek. — ^{Dirty Butter Creek, Araluen}

There are many stories regarding the naming of Dirty Butter Creek. Some suggest that the naming was due to the colour of the water when the creek is running high, while other tales involve a ‘rolling keg of butter’, which split open into the Creek.

‘Nearing the foot of the mountain, the driver points out to us the “Dirty Butter” Creek, the name of which originated from the fact that before the discovery of gold there was a small dairy farm in the valley, the proprietor of which one day, when carting his “coagulated lactial fluid” to market, had a spill from the road, down the steep sides, into the creek below, and thus had all his produce spoiled. We surmise that the butter must have been of the “roll” character”.¹

Or perhaps …

‘For a couple of years after Araluen opened, goods landed at the Clyde River were carted to the summit of the hills, overlooking the gold-laden valley, and tumbled into the township below. The old “shoot” may still be seen. There was no road to speak of down the Araluen Mountain, and this abrupt way was the only one by which to deliver the goods. One day a rolling keg of butter struck a gum-tree, and the cow-fat flew far and wide. A creek, into which the butter was tossed has ever since been called “Dirty Butter Creek”.’²

Or even …

‘There is generally a bit of quaint history attached to Australian place names, especially those that at once call up the interrogation mark, like Dirty Butter Creek, a little stream in the Araluen Valley. Araluen ever lingers in the memory as the subject of one of Kendall’s sweetest poems, and the name of his daughter; but Dirty Butter is the opposite extreme to poetic beauty. Long ago, when the valley was alive with gold diggers, supplies for the mushroom township were carried in drays from the Clyde River to the top of the hill, and then run down a long chute into the valley. One day a keg of butter got turned side on and, revolving down at a great rate, was smashed against a tree. Most of the butter went into the creek, and as the water was muddy from the diggers washing gold along the banks, it was left there. Thus for some time afterwards lumps of dirty butter floated about in the creek, and soon became a descriptive feature in distinguishing the stream from others in the vicinity.’³

Dirty Butter Creek, Araluen, was referenced in July 1851, in a copy of a Letter from E. H. Hargraves, Esq., to the Colonial Secretary, Guntawong, 18th July, 1851, which detailed ‘There are now about 400 persons digging in the valley and a small tributary stream of the Araluen called Bells, or Dirty Butten[r] Creek, earning on an average 5s per diem.’⁴

Following that Dirty Butter Creek and Dirty Butter Mountain became widely used locators. ‘Our community has been increased the last fortnight by a number of strange faces, … One party, … have commenced a tail race to open claims on Government land between Dirty Butter Creek and Weedy Flat. General opinion points to a lead in this direction, and by introducing an overshot water-wheel to work the pump, which is their intention, have every prospect of success.’⁵

Newspaper accounts of the flood of February 1860, detailed ‘large portions of the new Dirty Butter Creek track have been washed away, and that in consequence it is impassable’.⁶ The flood water in March 1870 ‘took a direction over to the Newtown side, where together with the Dirty Butter Creek, it committed a good deal of damage. Several huts at the foot of Dirty Butter Mountain were washed down, several more been taken down and removed to a firmer foundation in other localities‘.⁷

A picture of Dirty Butter Creek in the very early 1900's. — ^{Dirty Butter Creek – very early 1900s}

Not everyone was pleased with the name as a traveller in an article called County Rambles in 1869 related when describing the mountain. ‘The name, however, is enough, to spoil the most romantic associations, and in the name of all that is tasteful I stoutly protest against it. “Dirty butter mountain!” Faugh! It is positively nasty, and I don’t like even to think of it for a moment, especially when I am on board a steamboat. Budgeré is the Aboriginal nominative for what is good, beautiful, or grand: that is the name of the mountain in my memory, and no one shall ever again hear me call it “Dirty Butter”.’⁸

What is ‘dirty butter’?

In a September 1843 report headed ‘Sydney News – the prices of colonial farm and dairy produce in the Sydney Market‘⁹ noted ‘BUTTER is still saleable in nice kegs of 50 to 80 lbs. each, at from 9d to 10d per lb., the retail price being only 1s. It is necessary for settlers and others to be very particular in their butter kegs, to have them examined and thoroughly cleaned before putting the butter into them. It frequently happens that shopkeepers, when turning it out, find it very dirty all round, gathered from the keg; the consequence is that they scrape off several pounds of dirty butter, and return it with the keg, which increases the weight of tare, at a loss entirely to the party sending it to market, the agent having no alternative but to allow for the dirt.’

An 1937 comment on the practice of selling "Dirty Butter" — ^{An 1937 comment on the practice of selling ‘Dirty Butter for servants’}

In 1855, the Peoples Advocate¹⁰ reported on a ‘Startling Announcement. — In the shop window of a house in a lane off Brickfield hill may be seen a paper on which is written “Dirty butter for Servants”.’

While in 1859 the Empire¹¹ laments ‘Who that has seen the butter-shops on Ludgate hill, London – the clean hands, the clean white apron’s, the clean white towels, and the white marble slabs but must be struck with the contrast, as they go down the Sydney Markets. Cheese, black and dirty, and butter of better colour can be seen at a railway station, where men carry it in buckets to grease the machinery, with other butter of fine quality on the same table. If a few, pounds, are bought; if a housekeeper be not provided, as I always am on these occasions, with a net cloth and ran[?], this butter will be given and rolled up in a piece of newspaper which sometimes smells very strongly of tobacco. Now a thin white calico or muslin can be had very cheaply and vendors would find it more to their advantage, to use than their present mode of packing up rolls of butter.’

References

1
Australian Town and Country Journal (Sydney, NSW : 1870-1919), Saturday 26 September 1885, p 28.
2
Smith’s Weekly (Sydney, NSW : 1919-1950), Saturday 26 April 1919, p 9.
3
World’s News (Sydney, NSW : 1901-1955), Saturday 5 March 1927, p 15.
4
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842-1954), Wednesday 15 September 1852, p 3.
5
Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842-1954), Thursday 29 October 1857, p 8.
6
Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850-1875), Monday 20 February 1860, p 3.
7
Sydney Mail (NSW : 1860-1871), Saturday 7 May 1870, p 7.
8
Sydney Mail (NSW : 1860-1871), Saturday 10 April 1869, p 15.] [Article describing Araluen in 1869].
9
Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser (NSW : 1843-1893), Saturday 23 September 1843, p 3.
10
People’s Advocate and New South Wales Vindicator (Sydney, NSW : 1848-1856), Saturday 14 July 1855, p 3.
11
Empire (Sydney, NSW : 1850-1875), Wednesday 12 October 1859, p 3.