Born where the family lived in Bushfield, Thomas Griffith ‘Digger’ Gaut was the son of a baker who had shops across Victoria. In 1930,the family moved to Camperdown where 13 year-old ‘Digger’ worked as a messenger for a garage. He was nicknamed ‘Digger’ when he began wearing his uncle’s World War 1 hat.

In 1940, he married Lilian Anson and they moved to Melbourne where he built anti-tank guns in Fitzroy. Returning to Camperdown two years later, they moved his family of three – Francis, Margaret and Colin – to Silvester St, Cobden, in 1947. Joan and Chris were born later.

With Howard Smith and Gordon Beaton, ‘Digger’ ran Cobden Motors on the site currently occupied by Curdie Car Care. The business sold Hillman, Humber and Comma vehicles, and prize-winning Howard rotary hoes. In 1957, ’Digger’ and Davy Wedge began selling Volkswagens out of the Wedge Motors building in Victoria St. In 1959,

‘Digger’ occupied a new garage built by Ray Warden on this corner site. Son Colin left school after gaining his intermediate certificate (year 10) at 15½ to begin an auto apprenticeship. This was the beginning of a 43 year stint looking after customers and their cars on the corner of Curdie and Walker streets.

Besides Lilian, Colin and wife, Jan, siblings – Francis, Joan and Chris – all worked at Gaut Motors at some stage with Chris staying for thirty years. Other long-time employees included Bernie Harrington and Scott Guthrie. Scott and fellow apprentices, Ross Clementson and Kelvin Clarke, were trained as mechanics.

“Dad and I spent many hours starting the business – we got so busy we would work half the night,” Colin said. “We worked on all makes and models of cars.”

He recalls one incident: “I had to replace front drive shafts on a white Camira but I didn’t know two white Camiras were outside. I took the customer to his car to explain the completed work when he told me it wasn’t his car. I’d put them in the wrong vehicle! As it turned out, the customer needed his shafts done too – but not just then – so we let him pay the job off.”

Lilian died in 1975, and ‘Digger’ met Jean Richards who he spent time with at Cadell on the Murray River. They returned to Cobden in 1980 and ‘Digger’ turned up daily for work. He died in October, 2006.

At one stage, Gaut Motors was the only auto workshop in Cobden for a ten year period; at another time, a brother of ‘Digger’, John Gaut did some panel beating in a section of the garage added on by Ray Warden; and, later on, the business successfully operated a fleet of up-to-five mini-buses which were well-used by district groups.

Colin noted the massive change in technology over the years – from the use of reconditioned engines to the introduction of computers in vehicles. The business boasted the best wheel alignment equipment for miles around. Gaut Motors always sold Caltex fuel delivered by either Lyn Parslow (Colac) or Chisholms (Geelong).

Colin and Chris agreed about life in mechanics: “It was a hard but rewarding life, helping people out and getting to know new people when they came to town.” Certainly, the workshop was a great meeting place for many of the town’s characters.

The garage was sold to Ian and Cherine Benallack in 2002, and the business became ‘Cobden Motors’.