 Addison and Murray from Van Diemen's Land set up the sheep run Dunrobin in January, 1840 after which more than half a dozen squatters others followed, and by the end of the year, many properties had river frontages and the population grew gradually thereafter.A punt built in 1848 by Henry Kellett at Nelson was the first permanent crossing of the river.In 1860 a body of Mr Hunt and his wife were discovered under a bridge at Casterton, after which Mr Waines was subsequently tried and hanged for the murder.