Talgarno

Talgarno is a rural locality on the southern shoreline of Lake Hume (Murray River), 23 km east of Albury/Wodonga. It was named after the Talgarno pastoral station (1836), and it is thought that the name derived from an Aboriginal expression describing dry country.

Talgarno is in undulating country rising eastwards to hilly ranges. It is on the margin of the gold bearing district centred on Bethanga to the south. The settling of farm selections in the 1870s led to the opening of a school (1877) and an Anglican Sunday School (1880). A public hall was built in 1889. With its Mechanics’ Institute library, the hall qualified as an ‘athenaeum’ in the Victorian municipal directory. Graziers had the choice of the athenaeum or the Star Hotel, but had to go further afield for shopping.

In the mid-1930s Talgarno’s river flats were inundated by Lake Hume, leaving only the hilly grazing country. The Anglican church and the school are near the water’s edge when the lake is full.

Talgarno’s hall was refurbished in the 1990s by community fundraising and donated labour. There are also a CFA station, and a cemetery. The school had 5 pupils in 2014. Talgarno’s census populations have been

At the 2011 census, farming accounted for 15.8% of employment and 27.9% of residents were affiliated with the Anglican church.