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Crooked River / Talbotville

This is probably our most favoured area and although accessible by a conventional vehicle, a 4WD is recommended. Talbotville is a great area is usually rather popular amongst 4WDers and Trail bikers particularly at long weekends and Holiday periods.  

Talbotville, Grant, Bulltown, Stonewall, Howitteville were all bustling goldfield towns after the discovery of Gold around 1860.  Grant at one stage was like a city with a population of 3000.  Now all that remains in these the forgotten Goldfields are some remains of buildings and rusting machinery.

Talbotville is located some 35 Km Northwest of Dargo (50 Km north of Bairnsdale, which is 280 Km east of Melbourne) in a steep valley on the southern edge of the Alpine National Park. Free bush camping with drop toilets. 

McMillan's Track, which leads to Grant and onto Talbotville, is about 17km north of Dargo. In the main a good dirt road, though after the Helipad (good views of Hotham and Blue Rag) it becomes steeper, narrower and twisting for the final 9km to Crooked river but it is no real problem. We have accessed Talbotville this way numerous times with our Camper trailer. The Crooked River-Dargo road can sometimes be cut by high water levels in the Wongungarra River.

Attractions.

• Goldfield history.
  Numerous sites in the area such as the the remains of buildings, rusting crushers and boilers, mines, tunnels, and cemeteries.  Naturally care should be taken when walking as there are many mine shafts.
  

• Bushwalking.
  The main track is McMillians track which is the trail he cut through the hills linking Omeo to Woods Point in the 1860's.
  

• 4WDing
  There are many tracks in the Talbotville area. 
  Suggest Paoletti's "Grant Historic Adventurer" map for tracks in the local area, or VicMap Crooked River-Steve (& Dargo Plains-Cobungra, to the north) for a more overall view of the tracks in the area.
  
  A good day trip is up the Crooked River to the New Good Hope No 5 Battery (worth a look although a steep walk, & how did they get it there?) has you crossing the river about 25 times if you continue on to Bulltown Spur track then up to Grant. Return to Talbotville via either Collingwood Spur or go back to the Dargo road and pick up the Hibernia and Randal's tracks back to Talbotville. Both routes have some reasonably steep sections but are OK in the dry.
  
  A short trip south to the old Pioneer Racecourse via Crooked River & Pioneer tracks then up Station Track, down Cynthia Range/Spur track to the Talbotville/Crooked River track and back to camp is interesting but not difficult.
  
  Two trips, preferably to be done with at least one other vehicle and only in the dry weather, are:-
  
  North up Basalt Knob track from Talbotville all the way through to Blue Rag returning via the Dargo High Plains road and McMillians track.  
  
  South down the Crooked River-Dargo road to Kingswell's Bridge, then up the Wonnangatta road to one of Victoria's best 4WD tracks "Billy Goat Bluff Track".  This leads up to the East Pinnacle lookout for the most spectacular of views.  A round circuit can be completed with Castle Hill, Junction Spur, and Scrubby Creek tracks bringing you back to the Wonnangatta River near Waterford.