Lake Bathurst was discovered in April 1818 by chance on a journey of exploration commissioned by Governor Macquarie to find a route from the inland to the settlement on the south coast at Jervis Bay headed by Surveyor General James Meehan.

[4] Within the town a number of historic buildings remain in use, including the original 1884 railway station, the St Josephs Catholic Church, and the Loaded Dog Hotel, which dates from 1848.

[4] The closure of the mine came about when the operator, Denehurst Limited was placed in administration due to financial difficulties[7] and subsequently sparked controversy when the pay entitlements of the 160 former miners, totalling $6.5 million, were not paid.

[8] They planned to run six 55-car trains a week between a waste transfer station in the Sydney suburb of Clyde and sidings off the Bombala railway line near the mine.

[19] However, as existing quotas on greenhouse gases at State and Commonwealth levels were being fulfilled at that time, the project was postponed in July 2006 until renewable energy targets were raised.

[22] Situated east of Lake George and north of Bungendore, Tarago is some distance from both the Federal and Kings Highways, the major road transportation routes in the region.

In October 2012, the New South Wales Government committed funding to a study into the potential extension of Main Road 92 - significantly upgraded between Nowra and Nerriga in 2010.

One option considered in this study was to upgrade rural roads from Nerriga westwards across the Shoalhaven River to Tarago, then south to the Kings Highway at Bungendore.