The Running the Cutter Statue

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Location: Morgan Street, front traffic island (1 min after Mine Hooter).

Background: The Running of the Cutter Statue represents an interesting past tradition carried out in Mount Morgan from 1900 – 1918. At the time of this unique custom, a billycan was known as a “cutter”. There are a number of tales behind this past custom, but often the “running” of the Cutter refers to the task which was carried out by a young local daily. It is said that when a miner finished his shift, he would have a young lad run to a nearby hotel with his billycan, have it filled with beer and brought back to him as he came off shift.

Another chapter of the “running” is said to have been established by miners who wished to head home straight from work, or a number of miners’ wives who tired of their husbands returning home late for meals; sending their children to fetch Dad a billy of beer and have it waiting for him at the end of his shift. It is believed that the rising cost of beer caused publicans to put an end to the billy can, and cease the tradition of running the cutter.

Quick fact: Today the tradition is brought to life annually, during a competition held in the Golden Mount Festival. The Running of the Cutter contest sees teams relay the town’s remaining 4 hotels, with the lucky last team member downing a cutter full of beer.