| Tallarook Victoria | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Main street of Tallarook with the Tallarook Hotel on the left | |||||||||||||||
  Tallarook | |||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 37°06′0″S 145°06′0″E / 37.10000°S 145.10000°E | ||||||||||||||
| Population | 736 (2016 census)[1] | ||||||||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 3659 | ||||||||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Mitchell | ||||||||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Euroa | ||||||||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Nicholls | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Tallarook /tæləˈrʊk/[2] is a town the Shire of Mitchell local government area in central Victoria, Australia. The town is in on the Hume Highway, 88 kilometres (55 mi) north of the state capital, Melbourne. At the 2011 census, Tallarook had a population of 789.[1]
Tallarook Post Office opened on 1 April 1861.[3]
The town is known in Australia for the colloquialism, "Things are crook in Tallarook", believed to date to the Great Depression and unemployed travellers seeking work.[4] The phrase became the basis of a song composed by Jack O'Hagan—Things Is Crook in Tallarook.[5][6]
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 in 1891, and Alexandra in 1909, before being closed on 18 November 1978.[7]
Tallarook came to public attention in 1880 with the discovery of a recluse living in the ranges nearby. Dubbed A Wildman at Tallarook,[8] emigrant Henricke Nelsen was arrested and jailed, causing quite a sensation in the region. He is the subject of a 2008 book[9] 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.[10]
Tallarook is also home to the 'Tallarook Toilet Bug'. Dating back to 1864, it was a deadly strain of Gastroenteritis that resulted in the affected person(s) violently releasing blood from their bowels.
- ^ a b Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Tallarook (L) (State Suburb)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
- ^ Macquarie Dictionary, Fourth Edition (2005). Melbourne, The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. ISBN 1-876429-14-3
- ^ Phoenix Auctions History. "Post Office List". Retrieved 24 March 2021.
- ^ Moore, Bruce. "From The Centre - October 2003". The Australian National Dictionary Centre. Retrieved 15 July 2007.
- ^ "Jack O'Hagan". David Spicer Productions. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ "Things is crook, in Tallarook". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
- ^ Sid Brown (March 1990). "Tracks Across the State". Newsrail. Australian Railway Historical Society (Victorian Division). pp. 71–76.
- ^ The Argus 03/08/1880 p. 6
- ^ They Called Me The Wildman 2008
- ^ Blainey, Geoffrey; Smith, Ann G. "Lewis, Essington (1881–1961)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 21 May 2007.
