has resulted in Victoria being able to develop. Alexandra was home to a number of large timber mills, especially during the mid to late 20th century. Farming has always been an important component of the local economy. This has diversified over the years with beef production continuing, still some sheep farming, but other activities also important including wineries, fruit growing, fish production & other pursuits including major commercial lawn growing. Electricity production from the nearby hydro stations at Rubicon and Eildon has been an important part of the local economy since the 1920s and employed many from Alexandra and district. The Rubicon 'A' switching facility has also been important for power generation in Victoria together with its maintenance workforce. Since the State Electricity Commission was privatised during the 1990s some changes in operations have reduced the local workforce and more automated equipment is being utilised. Tourism is fundamental to the Alexandra District and continues to attract many, for obvious reasons. The railway to Alexandra arrived as a branch line of the Mansfield railway line in 1909, and closed on 18 November 1978. In 2012, the closed rail line was developed as part of the route for the 134 km long Great Victorian Rail Trail. The Rubicon Tramway connected Alexandra with the village of Rubicon (locally often known as 'The Tin Hut'), at the junction of the Rubicon and Royston Rivers. The Alexandra Magistrates' Court closed on 1 January 1990. The Black Saturday bushfires that burnt across much of Murrindindi Shire on, and following, 7 February 2009 impacted the area heavily. Alexandra provided support and shelter for many hundreds of people affected by the fires. The fire was managed from the Alexandra Incident Control Centre at the Department of Environment, Land & Planning (DELWP) Offices. Local DELWP and CFA firefighters were heavily involved in controlling the fires over many weeks and the town's service clubs, emergency services, agencies and community volunteers and townspeople provided immediate and long term assistance. Large numbers of firefighting resources, which were brought in to the town, were temporarily housed at a staging area at the Alexandra Showgrounds and at the rear of the Emergency Services Facility in Shamrock Street as well as other locations for many weeks during the firefighting operations. Alexandra was untouched directly by the fires but was under considerable threat for some time, on occasions, with the fire fronts being only about 9