The town is in the Shire of Loddon local government area, 183 kilometres (114 mi) north west of the state capital, Melbourne.

[2] Reflecting this, the Post Office opened on 13 August 1856 as Sandy Creek and was renamed Tarnagulla on 2 January 1861.

Many other large nuggets including one weighing 32 lb (14.5 kg)[dubious – discuss] were found in the area.

The reef was named by one of its discoverers, Mr. Hatt, in remembrance of Poverty Bay, New Zealand where he had been saved from drowning by a Māori woman.

[2] The move to quartz mining led to Tarnagulla taking on a more settled appearance with brick and stone buildings replacing the earlier canvas structures.

By 1865, the town had reached its peak with a wide range of businesses operating including 4 hotels, 9 general stores, 3 surgeons, a share broker and watchmaker.

In 2000 the towns' disused but "magnificent" Wesleyan Methodist church was gutted by fire after ceasing to be a place of worship in the mid 1970s.

[11] Today the major industries in Tarnagulla include agriculture, fruit growing and flax oil production.