| The name Dargo conjures up romantic notions of high plains, cattle musters and gold and synonymous with Dargo is the legendary Dargo Hotel (originally Bridge Hotel). Although not the first hotel in the town it has become a focal point for the community and destination for visitors into the area Quackmunjie Station was established in the 1850s as a cattle run and Connelly's Inn the first licensed hotel in the area was established soon after. With the discovery of gold to the north on the Crooked River and Grant in the 1860s, Dargo developed as a stopover point, a town where fresh vegetables and supplies could be obtained. Nicol's Royal Mail Hotel, and Anticevich's Mail Rest Hotel were built at this time to cater for the miners. Old timers tell of miners walking out into the still cold air of Dargo late at night after a session at one of the pubs and collapsing onto the ground to be found the next morning with their beards solidly frozen into a puddle. By 1881 the gold was gone and with it the miners, some took residence in Dargo which now boasted a population of 200. At the licensing Court that year a 'Certificate of Renewal and Removal' was granted to Patrick Coloe of the Castleburn Creek Hotel for the establishment of a new hotel in Dargo opposite the Court House to be known as the Bridge Hotel. |
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