Tallangatta, Victoria
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Tallangatta is a small town with a population of 923 people (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2001 figures) in north-eastern Victoria, Australia, situated on the banks of the Mitta Arm of Lake Hume, approximately 40 kilometres south-east of Albury-Wodonga.
Founded in the mid-19th century, with the construction of a rail line there it served as a rail gateway for the Mitta and Upper Murray valleys (the Upper Murray only until the railway was extended to Cudgewa). A considerable amount of gold and tin mining occurred in the late 19th and early 20th century, though, unlike Beechworth, little evidence for this remains. While initially profitable, the mining generally ended because the deeper reefs contained not only gold but other metals, and mining technology at the time was not advanced enough to cope with these and extract the gold profitably. Since that time, Tallangatta has been a service centre for the local farming community, with a butter factory operating throughout much of the 20th century. Improved road transport links finally ended both the dairy and the rail link in the 1970s (with dairy processing operations now concentrated in Tangambalanga, about 15 kilometres to the west).
Nowadays, supporting the production of beef and dairy cattle being the dominant produce is the major activity; with a small abbatoir the only substantial secondary industry. Because of the lake and the substantial number of through travellers (including many motorcyclists who enjoy the twisty roads in the area) the town also supports a small tourist industry, with a motel and caravan park. Services include a small hospital, and two primary and a secondary school. A considerable number of residents now commute to work in Albury-Wodonga, for these people, the beauty and recreation offered by the lake compensates for the half-hour drive to the larger centre.
Perhaps the most unique aspect of the town's history is the fact that it was moved eight kilometres to the west in the 1950s to allow for the expansion of Lake Hume.