With the sale of Newtons Butcher Shop, a 123-year association between the Newton and Cooper families and butchering in Stawell and District comes to an end.
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There has been a butcher shop located at 147 Main Street Stawell for the past 164 years.
In 1859 Walter George Simmons was the first to establish his butcher shop on the site in what was then known as Quartz Reefs. He supplied meat to the ever increasing numbers of miners in the area who were seeking their fortune as the gold began to be peter out on the goldfields at Pleasant Creek.
He continued on in the business until 1871 when he then sold to a Mr John Webb. Mr Webb was followed by Samuel George Evans in 1890.
Evans eventually sold to the Cooper Bros [W.M. and A.] who operated the store until May 2, 1921.
Current owner, David Newton, is a descendant of one of the Cooper Bros.
The Coopers Bros. were old hands at the butchering business having started at Mt William in 1900 supplying fresh meat to the 10,000 miners and their families in the area.
They set up two shops; one at Mason's Camp at Ladysmith at the foot of the Mount and one at the upper camp called Mafeking. By this stage the brothers had already established a butcher's shop in Patrick Street Stawell next door to the Roman Catholic Church, where the new Presbytery was built.
A delivery run of meat was made from Ledcourt by cart to Halls Gap, Fyans Creek and Deep Lead. The three brothers all helped at the diggings in various ways.
The meat was supplied from their farm at 'Rocky Point' at Ledcourt.
On May 2 1921 the Cooper Bros. sold out George Lawrence Thurgood who was an employee of theirs. He operated the business until 1947 when he then sold to Isaac Newton Snr and thus began the long association between the name Newton's Butcher and the Main Street of Stawell.
The current owner of the business David Newton is the fifth generation of the family to operate the business being the Great, Great Grandson of Isaac Newton Snr.
Isaac Newton Snr came to the area to work as a miner but settled on becoming a butcher. He was followed in the business by son Edwin, grandson Isaac Jnr, great grandsons Hartley and Graeme and now great, great grandson, David.
For many years, Newtons conducted their own slaughter yard in Errington Road, Stawell.
However, in February 1998 it was decided to sell the slaughter yards and a clearing sale was held to sell all the plant and equipment.
There have been three different butcher shops on the site. The first shop built in 1859 was demolished in 1888 and a new outlet built. This building was renovated over the 111 years of its existence to modernise it, but was completely demolished in 1999 by David Newton when the current modern outlet was constructed.
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