Spring in East Gippsland brings out paddocks of daisies

Dargo
Small settlement in the Dargo Valley
Located 320 km east of Melbourne and 40 km north of Bairnsdale along a road, sometimes unsealed, which stretches along portions of the Wonnangatta and Dargo Rivers, Dargo, is a small settlement in the picturesque Dargo Valley.

The area around Dargo was explored by Angus McMillan, in 1839, on behalf of Lachlan Macalister, who established a run of around 8000 hectares which was managed by McMillan.

Government surveyor, John Wilkinson, mapped the area in 1850, naming the Wonnangatta and Dargo Rivers. Farming proved difficult in the mountainous terrain but gold traces were found and, in the early 1860s, a Government prospecting party, led by Alfred William Howlitt and later joined by artist Eugene Von Guerard, located gold along the Crooked River. This led to a major rush along the river and further east at Mount Pleasant, the largest mining settlement in the area, which was renamed Grant in 1865. That same year McMillan's party uncovered the Pioneer gold reef, which was named in honour of McMillan's favourite horse.

Grant was home to the Good Hope Mine, which brought prosperity for a time, but the ore ultimately proved too costly to extract. Miners started leaving the area and the town was deserted by 1916. As Chester Eagle observes in Hail and Farewell: An Evocation of Gippsland (1971):

At Grant there is nothing but blackberries, broken bottles, untidy clearings, holes, some piping, a shed or two in among the peppermint trees and a remnant of masonry wall scored by hundreds of initials.

Although water races and an old cemetery overlooking the town testify to a modest rush at Dargo itself, the town was primarily an intermediate staging post on the journey to the nearby fields and so it too declined with the mining.

Today Dargo is a timber and cattle town and the surrounding area is noted for its willow and huge walnut trees. Dargo now supplies Victoria with about 10 per cent of its walnuts.

Things to see:  

Tours of the Area
At the Bridge Hotel horseback safaris can be arranged and people with four-wheel drives may wish to explore the Wonnangatta-Moroka National Park and the old goldmining sites of Hogtown, Talbotville, Bulltown, Crooked River and Grant. A good map of the area is available at the Dargo camping ground.

The First Homestead
The road from Dargo to the homestead of the first settler on the Dargo High Plains, George Emmanuel Treasure, is adorned with wildflowers in spring. Treasure initially sold milk and butter to miners who were en route to the southerly diggings. When the rush ended he concentrated on beef cattle and began a tradition of grazing cattle on the snow plains in summer. Indeed, large numbers of cattle are still driven along the road to the High Plains for grazing each spring. They are mustered and returned to Dargo in autumn to avoid the snow.

Dargo Valley Winery
The Dargo Valley Winery, established in 1985, produces chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, traminer, riesling, pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon. Bed-and-breakfast accommodation is available and there are picnic and barbecue areas. The cellar door is open from midday to 5.00 p.m. Monday to Thursday and from 10.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. on weekends (closed Friday). Call for directions, tel: (03) 5140 1228.

Walking in the Area
There are a number of popular walking tracks in the area, notably the Blue Rag Range. The Dinner Plain Ski Village is also nearby.

	Hotels
	Dargo Hotel Lind Ave Dargo VIC 3862 Telephone: (03) 5140 1231
	Dargo Mill Tavern Lower Dargo Rd Dargo VIC 3862 Telephone: (03) 5140 1280
	Caravan Parks
	Dargo Caravan Park Main Rd Dargo VIC 3862 Telephone: (03) 5140 1221 Rating: **
	Wonnangatta Caravan Park Dargo Rd Dargo VIC 3862 Telephone: (03) 5140 1265 Rating: **