Taggerty is a town in central Victoria,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is located at the intersection of Maroondah Highway and Thornton Road. The

Acheron River The Acheron (; grc, Ἀχέρων ''Acheron'' or Ἀχερούσιος ''Acherousios''; ell, Αχέροντας ''Acherontas'') is a river located in the Epirus region of northwest Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . Its source is ...

also crosses the highway at Taggerty. At the , Taggerty and the surrounding area had a population of 328. A pastoral run called Taggerty Run was established in 1846. The homestead of the run was called Taggerty House.

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

was discovered along the Acheron River in 1870, which led to the establishment of two settlements, named Acheron Lower (now known as Acheron) and Acheron Upper (now known as Taggerty). The Post Office opened on April 15, 1876 and was renamed Taggerty in 1893. Acheron Upper Primary School opened in 1875. The general store opened in 1891, as did a

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condiment ...

factory, reflecting the area's shift from gold mining towards

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or ...

. The town was given the name Taggerty in 1890 to avoid confusion with Acheron Lower. Today Taggerty remains a small township, with a general store, primary school (closed 2017), a town hall, a caravan park, and several bed and breakfasts.

References

Towns in Victoria (Australia) Shire of Murrindindi Mining towns in Victoria (Australia) {{Hume-geo-stub