Tallarook is a town the
Shire of Mitchell
Mitchell Shire is a local government area in the Hume region of Victoria, Australia, located North of Melbourne. It covers an area of and, in April 2024, had a projected population of 61,362. Larger towns include Beveridge, Broadford, Kilm ...
local government area
A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
in central
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
, Australia. The town is in on the
Hume Highway
The Hume Highway, including the sections now known as the Hume Freeway and the Hume Motorway, is one of Australia's major inter-city national highways, running for between Melbourne in the southwest and Sydney in the northeast. Upgrading of t ...
, north of the state capital,
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
. At the , Tallarook had a population of 789.
Tallarook Post Office opened on 1 April 1861.
The town is known in Australia for the
colloquialism
Colloquialism (also called ''colloquial language'', ''colloquial speech'', ''everyday language'', or ''general parlance'') is the linguistic style used for casual and informal communication. It is the most common form of speech in conversation amo ...
, "Things are crook in Tallarook", believed to date to the
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
and unemployed travellers seeking work.
The phrase became the basis of a song composed by
Jack O'Hagan—''Things Is Crook in Tallarook''.
It also features in a song written by
Garth Porter
Garth Ivan Richard Porter (born 24 September 1948) is a New Zealand-born Australian multi-instrumental musician, songwriter and record producer. He was a member, on keyboards and backing vocals, of the pop group, Sherbet (1970–84), and co-wr ...
and
Lee Kernaghan
Lee Kernaghan OAM (born 15 April 1964) is an Australian country music singer, songwriter and guitarist. Kernaghan has won four ARIA Awards and three APRA Awards, and has sold over two million albums, and as of 2021, has won 38 Golden Guitars ...
, "Tallarook", released on
The Outback Club.
The main
North East railway opened through the town in 1872 along with the
local railway station, and a
branch railway to Mansfield was started in 1883, extended to
Mansfield
Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...
in 1891, and
Alexandra
Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...
in 1909, before being closed on 18 November 1978.
Tallarook came to public attention in 1880 with the discovery of a recluse living in the ranges nearby. Dubbed ''A Wildman at Tallarook'', emigrant Henricke Nelsen was arrested and jailed, causing quite a sensation in the region. He is the subject of a 2008 book
[''They Called Me The Wildman'' 2008] by
Robert Hollingworth. While this book fictionalises Nelsen's life, much of the region's early history is also detailed.
The town is home to a cricket club competing in the Seymour District Cricket Association.
The industrialist
Essington Lewis settled near Tallarook on his property, ''Landscape'' in his later years until his death in 1961.
References
External links
Community websiteGoulburn River High Country Rail Trail
{{authority control
Towns in Victoria (state)
Shire of Mitchell
1861 establishments in Australia
Hume Highway