[1] In September 1836, Major Thomas Livingstone Mitchell and his party reached the Talbot district and passed in the vicinity of Mount Greenock.

Upon his return to Sydney he gave impressive reports as to the suitability of the land for sheep grazing.

A grazing lease for Dunach Forest, an area of 63,640 acres (257.5 km²) was granted to him on 1 April 1848.

For the next decade the area was not greatly changed by the efforts of the settlers who lived and raised their flocks in the solitude of the bush.

This peaceful scene was soon to change as the news of gold find spread throughout the colonies and to Europe and America.

The first unofficial record of a discovery of gold in the area was at Daisy Hill on Hall and McNeill’s ‘Glen Mona Run’.

The first official discovery in the area around Talbot was made by two South Australians and their families at Daisy Hill Creek (later Amherst) in 1852.

The rich ground of Ballarat Hill, Nuggetty Gully and Kangaroo Flat (Carallulup) were opened up.

At the beginning of 1855 there were about 2500 diggers and store owners at Back Creek as well as 300 women and children.

The Scandinavian Rush began in earnest in the early part of 1859 and the diggers found the areas "alive with gold".

The main street was called Scandinavian Crescent in March and hundreds of places of business were opened to cater for the needs of the diggers.

Noise and confusion from large numbers of excited diggers, the clang of anvils, the rattle of windlasses and the explosions from blasting.

In November 1858 the first sitting of a newly proclaimed Amherst Borough Council took place.

Companies on the Mount Greenock lead were the Union Co. (owned by Carl Schultz and Alolph Von Pein), the Hoffnung Co. (owned by Klein and Christensen), The Rip Van Winkle, Nichols Freehold Co., The Robert Nicholl and the Greenock Estate.

In 1864 it had a Court House, borough offices, seven schools, a street of good shops, two breweries, churches, two soap and candle factories, sixteen hotels, coach services and general carriers, and a number of crushers.

There were also cultivation blocks and dairy farms and a common pasturage which operated with the aid of a pound keeper.

Talbot was officially named on 19 October 1861 by the then Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Barkly.

The area continued to develop during the sixties and on 31 October 1865 the Shire of Talbot was proclaimed.

The Post Office had opened as Back Creek on 24 February 1854 and renamed Talbot in 1862.

A popular Farmers Market sees thousands of people descend on the town the third Sunday of every month.

The increase in tourism in areas such as Daylesford and Avoca is encouraging new businesses with several new restaurants and shops opening recently.