Tallarook - VIC

Tallarook is located on the Hume Highway, 102 kilometres north of the state capital, Melbourne. The town is in the Mitchell Shire Local Government area.

The town is on the northern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, on land that was once central to the territories of the Goulburn Aboriginal tribes, in whose language, Tallarook means ‘call of the wattle birds’.

Today Tallarook supports abundant wildlife and farming properties. The local vineyards are gaining an international reputation and provide the perfect place to unwind and explore.

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. The phrase became the basis of a song composed by Jack O'Hagan—Things Is Crook In Tallarook.

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.

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 by Robert Hollingworth. While this book fictionalizes Nelsen's life, much of the region's early history is also detailed.

Tallarook is at the western end of the Great Victorian Rail Trail.