The town is known in Australia for the colloquialism, "Things are crook in Tallarook", believed to date to the Great Depression and unemployed travellers seeking work.[4] The phrase became the basis of a song composed by Jack O'Hagan—Things Is Crook in Tallarook.[5][6]
Tallarook came to public attention in 1880 with the discovery of a recluse living in the ranges nearby. Dubbed A Wildman at Tallarook,[8] emigrant Henricke Nelsen was arrested and jailed, causing quite a sensation in the region. He is the subject of a 2008 book[9] by Robert Hollingworth. While this book fictionalises Nelsen's life, much of the region's early history is also detailed.
The town is home to a cricket club competing in the Seymour District Cricket Association.
The industrialist Essington Lewis settled near Tallarook on his property, Landscape in his later years until his death in 1961.[10]