Bute. The old Catholic Church which is now a residence. Its foundation stone was laid in April 1894. The metal fence and cement pillars are superb.
Bute.
The railway from Wallaroo to Barunga Gap passed through the area that would become Bute in1877. The farmers of the Snowtown area wanted rail access to the international port at Wallaroo, so the government extended the line from Barunga Gap to Snowtown in 1879. This line was eventually extended from Snowtown to Brinkworth in 1894. Because of the dense Mallee scrub across the plains around Bute no survey was undertaken until 1883. The town was established in 1884 which is quite late considering it was on a railway line. It was named after the Isle of Bute in the Firth of the Clyde in Scotland. A small Methodist chapel opened in the district before the town was established. One of the first town buildings was a tin school room in 1886 and the Railway Hotel. The tin school was replaced by a more permanent structure in 1892 and finally a stone school in 1911. A small Catholic Church was opened in 1895 known as the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The current Methodist Church( Uniting Church) that you can see today opened in 1907. One of the first major activities of the town was an agricultural field day in 1895. This was soon moved to Paskeville where they still operate in alternate years. A police officer was not stationed at Bute until 1908 and the police station was built in the early 1920s.
The town Insitute opened in 1901. A new entrance porch and facade was opened a few years later. An adjacent Soldiers Memorial Hall to commemerate World War One opened in 1923. A local hospital was established after a local family donated their grand house for this purpose. It is across the railway lines oppposite where the railway station once stood. It is now just a private residence. The small Returned Services League building next to the Soldiers Memorial Hall started life as a saddler and harness maker’s premises in 1889. It was taken over by the RSL in 1948. Today the population of Bute is around 280 people. The rail service from Moonta to Snowtown and Blyth ceased in 1968 and freight services on the rail line stopped in 1970.
Bute. The old Catholic Church which is now a residence. Its foundation stone was laid in April 1894. The metal fence and cement pillars are superb.
Bute.
The railway from Wallaroo to Barunga Gap passed through the area that would become Bute in1877. The farmers of the Snowtown area wanted rail access to the international port at Wallaroo, so the government extended the line from Barunga Gap to Snowtown in 1879. This line was eventually extended from Snowtown to Brinkworth in 1894. Because of the dense Mallee scrub across the plains around Bute no survey was undertaken until 1883. The town was established in 1884 which is quite late considering it was on a railway line. It was named after the Isle of Bute in the Firth of the Clyde in Scotland. A small Methodist chapel opened in the district before the town was established. One of the first town buildings was a tin school room in 1886 and the Railway Hotel. The tin school was replaced by a more permanent structure in 1892 and finally a stone school in 1911. A small Catholic Church was opened in 1895 known as the Church of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The current Methodist Church( Uniting Church) that you can see today opened in 1907. One of the first major activities of the town was an agricultural field day in 1895. This was soon moved to Paskeville where they still operate in alternate years. A police officer was not stationed at Bute until 1908 and the police station was built in the early 1920s.
The town Insitute opened in 1901. A new entrance porch and facade was opened a few years later. An adjacent Soldiers Memorial Hall to commemerate World War One opened in 1923. A local hospital was established after a local family donated their grand house for this purpose. It is across the railway lines oppposite where the railway station once stood. It is now just a private residence. The small Returned Services League building next to the Soldiers Memorial Hall started life as a saddler and harness maker’s premises in 1889. It was taken over by the RSL in 1948. Today the population of Bute is around 280 people. The rail service from Moonta to Snowtown and Blyth ceased in 1968 and freight services on the rail line stopped in 1970.