The town that moved in the 1950's - Tallangatta history documentary

I posted a RUclips short about the ruins of Old Tallangatta Railway station and I immediately received this comment from a viewer:
I have one question: Why is it in the middle of a lake??
HHHMMM, here's why.
The area now called Tallangatta had been inhabited by indigenous Australian's for tens of thousands of years by the time the first European settlers arrived in the area in the late 1830s.
After only 25 years of European colonisation the Ginning-Matong clan had been practically erased from existence thus ending millennia of traditions, beliefs and there unique way of life.
For the settlers farming and grazing were the things to do and after moving around a bit the final location of the settlement was decided.
The town was officially named Tallangatta in 1854 and became a gateway and supplier to the then burgeoning local gold mining industry.
Not to be neglected by the octopus act rail arrived in Tallangatta in 1891 and the town flourished. The new railway line into Tallangatta included a 1.55 kilometre long viaduct which took 2 years to build but it was worth it as
The train slashed travel times, created jobs, allowed for speedy movement of freight, opened up new markets for local farmers and businesses and hauled miners heavy equipment with ease.
By 1921 the train line had been extended all the way to Cudgewa requiring numerous impressive wooden trestle bridges.
Tallangatta was always a small town but wasn't lacking in any way, bosting a decent shopping strip, butter factory, multiple churches, Holden dealership, hospital, council offices, pubs and much much more!
Tallangatta had it all, but for how long? The town's existence was first put under threat in 1918 when the River Murray Commission selected the confluence of the Mitta Mitta and Murray rivers upstream from Albury Wodonga as the site for a major reservoir.
Tallangatta's days were numbered, ad least in it's current location that is. The first stage of the reservoir was completed in 1936.
Luckily the town was spared but further expansion was imminent with down stream regions needing more and more water for reliable irrigation. The Dam wall needed to be heightened.
In 1952 the townsfolk were informed that their entire town would need to be moved because it was going to be completely flooded by Lake Hume once the dam wall heightening was completed.
Tallangatta was to be moved 8 kilometres west to what was then called Bolga and the train line would need to be diverted to stay above water.
Moving soon took place with a lot of timber buildings being loaded on to trucks and driven to "New" Tallangatta.
Stone and brick buildings were demolished and some where rebuilt at the new Tallangatta.
Relocation was an expensive exercise costing 3 million pounds but it increased the capacity of Lake Hume to 3 million megalitres which is about six times the volume of Sydney Harbour.
The "new" Tallangatta was officially opened on the 29th of June 1956 boasting all the amenities of the old town and more in new slick mid century look.
As Tallangatta rocketed into the space age the ruins of old Tallangatta slowly slipped away silently under the rising waters of Lake Hume.
A few structures from old Tallangatta including the butter factory were spared from inundation as they were above the high water mark but the original Tallangatta was now officially dead.
As road transport rose to prominence the Cudgewa railway line saw less and less use and was officially decommissioned beyond Bandiana in 1981. Almost 70 years have passed since the town relocated and Tallangatta has now became famous as the town that moved in the 1950's. It's an architecturally interesting town for it's display of relatively untouched 1950's streetscapes and architecture with historic buildings that were trucked in from the old town peppered in amongst it.
Now being situated on a massive lake the town has became a secret haven for boaters and fishers alike.
As the weather get's dryer and dryer the water begins to recced revealing the hidden remnants of old Tallangatta.
Under the lake once held peoples entire lives. This is just part of there story.
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Fogarty Avenue takes only pictures and leaves only footprints and breaks nothing but silence. So should you!!! Also wear a pfd.

[@debbieanne7962]

My brother worked on a farm in Tallangalla in the 1980s for a guy named Jack Reed who would now be long dead. Also working around the farms in the area at the time was a young illegal immigrant from Switzerland (he fled there as he didn’t want to be conscripted into their army) wonder where he is now. I did know the town was moved, thought it was earlier than the 1950s

[@FogartyAvenue]

Thanks for watching and sharing your stories it's interesting to hear.

[@FogartyAvenue]

Hey eggs this video is an clip from a video I made in January documenting the sumbmurged abandoned Old Tallangatta railway elignment. To watch the full egg-splore click the link. ruclips.net/video/Xi86L7Dezs8/видео.html

[@rolfsinkgraven]

I hope those ppl got payed for everything, the ppl with a big flood 2 years ago here are still waiting for money lol We pay for everything!!!! said the prime minister.....................nope.

[@FogartyAvenue]

I'm not sure on specifics but I'm assuming all the properties would have been purchased under compulsory acquisition so the home owners would have made a pretty penny.