Visitor Information Centre: 1800 652 298
Map Ref: D11 H 11 F11 B10 D7
Population: 2454
Location: 130km North East Melbourne
Accommodation: 1 Resort, 9 B&B's, 6 Motels/Hotels, 4 Caravan Parks
Things Do: Art Gallery, Antiques, Golf, Horse Racing, Speed Way, Alexandra Timber Tramway, Olive Farm Café & Produce Store, Honey Farm, Day Spas, Healing Centres, Massage & Bowen Therapy, Vineyards, Nurseries, Walking Tracks, Rock Climbing, Shopping, Café's, Restaurants, Tennis, Bowls.
Alexandra, our civic centre, is a country town of parklands and historic buildings with all the facilities to support our growing tourist industry.
A historic and beautiful town, located in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range and 130 kilometres north east of Melbourne, Alexandra is central to this vast scenic area.
The first white men to see Alexandra were Hume and Hovell in 1824. Goldmining and the heavily timbered fertile soils surrounding the Upper Goulburn River provided the initial attraction for settlers which, prior to European settlement, had been inhabited mainly by aborigines of the Yauung - Illam - Baluk tribe.
The earliest name for Alexandra was simply the Red Gate, so called because of a red gate between two squatting runs. Princess Alexandra had been married to Edward Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) for four years when her name was given to the town and parish. Her statue stands in the gardens opposite the Shire Offices.
Alexandra's fine historical buildings still stand as testimony to the towns prosperous past. They include the Shire Hall (1882) - described at the time of its completion, as "a magnificent building...the best outside Melbourne"; Post Office and Court House (1877) - there was much wrangling over the site and its cost of thirty two pounds; Free Library (1883 & 1891) - held its grand opening in 1983 with much pageantry and festivity - and fifty subscribers, and in order to increase its revenue an identical section was added in 1891 for use as a billiard saloon and hall; the ANZ Bank (1867) - which has a National Trust Classification; and the former National Bank (1907).
A green belt of parks flow through the township along the banks of the Ultima Thule Creek. The Shire Gardens in Perkins Street are beautiful all year round.
Crossing the footbridge over U.T. Creek takes you into the vast Leckie Park which features the war memorial, various sporting clubs and community facilities and the quaint and historic Dove Cottage, a former miner's cottage.
Follow the creek across Grant Street to Rotary Park with its swing bridge over U.T. Creek, undercover coin operated barbecue and picnic facilities and Visitor Information Centre.
