The area was settled in the late 1820s when graziers moved stock into the district. William Duggan Tarlinton was the first white man to set foot in the district in 1829, seeking pasture for his cattle. He returned in the 1830s, erecting slab and bark huts in the district and became one of its prominent citizens. By the late 1830s the three Imlay brothers had substantial holdings and around 1840 Alexander Imlay, one of the Imlay brothers, named his property "Cobargo".