Tatong () is a town in north eastern

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Australia. The town is on the northern foothills of the Blue Ranges, part of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughl ...

, beside Holland Creek, north east of the state capital,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. At the , Tatong had a population of 350 declining to 287 in 2016. The area is a mixture of farmland, pine plantations and dense bush

History

The Post Office opened on 10 October 1890 and closed in 1993. In 1914, a railway from

Benalla Benalla is a small city in the Hume (region), Hume region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The town sits on the Broken River (Victoria), Broken River, about north east of the state capital Melbourne. As of the , the population wa ...

to Tatong was opened. Timber from the surrounding hills was harvested to supply the early Melbourne power station, but coal from the

Latrobe Valley The Latrobe Valley is an inland geographical district and urban area of the Gippsland region in the state of Victoria, Australia. The traditional owners are the Brayakaulung of the Gunai nation. The district lies east of Melbourne and nestle ...

became the favoured fuel source. In February 1928, staff were withdrawn from Tatong railway station. Persistent operating losses on the operation of the line led its closure in July 1947. Tatong station marker Stevage

Tatong is the birthplace of

Michael Joseph Savage Michael Joseph Savage (23 March 1872 – 27 March 1940) was an Australian-born New Zealand politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of New Zealand, heading the First Labour Government of New Zealand, First Labour Government from 1935 ...

, the first Labour

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, and Graeme Peck, male lead for the

Australian Ballet Company The Australian Ballet (TAB) is the largest classical ballet company in Australia. It was founded by J. C. Williamson Theatres Ltd and the Australian Elizabethan Theatre Trust in 1962, with the English-born dancer, teacher, repetiteur an ...

Facilities

It has a pub, the Tatong Tavern, a memorial hall and sports ground. It has an active community with

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a Bow and arrow, bow to shooting, shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting ...

, cricket, tennis and table tennis clubs. Tatong used to have netball and

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

teams competing in the

Ovens and King Football League The Ovens & King Football Netball League (OKFNL) is an Australian rules football and netball competition based in north-eastern Victoria (state), Victoria around the regional cities of Benalla, Victoria, Benalla and Wangaratta, Victoria, Wanga ...

prior to being removed in 2014.The Age - Thursday, March 20th, 2014
/ref> Other groups include the Tatong Angling Group, Tatong Heritage Grou

and the Tatong Young Bloods.

People from Tatong

, former Prime Minister of New Zealand

References

External links

Geoscience Australia place names search: Tatong
Towns in Victoria (state) Rural City of Benalla {{Hume-geo-stub