Alexandra, New Zealand
Alexandra is a town in the Central Otago district of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Clutha River, on State Highway 8, by road from Dunedin and south of Cromwell.
At the time of the 2013 census, the permanent population was 4,800, a decrease of 24 since 2006. 27.1 per cent of the population was aged over 65.
History
The town was founded during the Central Otago goldrush in the 1860s, and was named after Alexandra of Denmark by John Aitken Connell who surveyed the town. Originally referred to as "Alexandra South" to distinguish it from a North Island town with the same name, the word "South" was dropped in 1867 after the North Island town was renamed to Pirongia. It was known to miners of the day by several names: the "Lower Township", the "Junction Township", and "Manuherikia".Many orchards were destroyed in the 1980s as a result of construction, 10 km upriver, of the Clyde High Dam, which is the country's third largest hydroelectric power station.
Geography
Alexandra is the service centre for a significant stone-fruit industry, which is celebrated by a blossom festival in the town each spring. Grape production is another major industry in the Central Otago Wine Region. Alexandra has the world's southernmost vineyard, Black Ridge.The town is a popular holiday destination mainly due to the hot and sunny climate during summer.
Alexandra is perhaps best known for the Alexandra Blossom Festival, an annual event that began in 1957. The Festival celebrates the advent of Spring in the Central Otago District as evidenced by the blooming of the fruit trees.
Alexandra has had two bridges crossing the Clutha River, the current one opening in 1958.
The Alexandra Aerodrome is Alexandra's only airport. SPANZ, NAC and Mount Cook Airlines were main users of the airport till the 1980s. It is home to the Central Otago Flying Club, and gliding. It is reasonably quiet, and commercial passenger flights are no longer scheduled; Queenstown International Airport is the nearest facility for those.
A portion of the Otago Central Rail Trail runs through Alexandra.
Climate
Alexandra experiences a semi-arid climate, that if just 0.6 millimetres wetter, would qualify for an oceanic climate. The district is one of the farthest from a coastline in New Zealand and experiences cold winters and even some light snowfall and warm summers relative to the rest of the country. Temperatures regularly drop below zero in winter and will rise above thirty degrees Celsius in the summer months. Alexandra, along with other areas of Central Otago, experiences a near continental climate with a high annual temperature range compared to the rest of New Zealand. The hottest temperature of the year averages 35 degrees Celsius, while the coldest averages -8°C. In spite of its southerly latitude, it is known to be one of the warmest areas in New Zealand during summer. The hottest and coldest temperatures recorded in Alexandra are and respectively,.Radio stations
Following Mediaworks corporate 2013 decision to move all Central Otago and Lakes District live broadcast activity to Queenstown, Alexandra was left without a local radio station until the creation of independently owned Classic Gold Central in September 2013 on Blossom Festival Weekend.Tramsmitting from a co-site with Radio Rhema in the Waikerikeri Valley on 91.9FM, the station, owned by longtime broadcasters Chris Diack and Bill Willis, has re-established the service of providing local information for the district. Classic Gold Central was re-branded as Local Radio Central sometime before 2018. On April 1st 2018 the station was purchased by new owners, who again re-branded the station as Radio Central. From the 1st of April 2018 Radio Central had transmitters located at Waikerikeri Valley, Cromwell, Roxburgh and Wedderburn.
Independently owned radio station Blue Skies FM was established in 2001 to serve the local community, broadcasting to the Alexandra basin, Cromwell, the Maniototo, Teviot Valley and beyond.
The station successfully established itself as the voice of the region, featuring regular guests, from the local mayor to the Prime Minister, along with a raft of sports stars.
Its main driving force was its managing Director Mike Bain and his team that was behind him.
Announcers on air included Mike Bain, Jack Crookes and John Prestney.
Blue Skies FM ceased broadcasting at the end of September '08 following a move by Mediaworks, who successfully negotiated a deal to take on the frequency to rebroadcast its Easy Listening Brand, The Breeze.
Alexandra once had its own local More FM station with the studios based in Alexandra. Previously, the station was known as Radio Central. Central Otago's More FM broadcasts into Roxburgh, Clyde and Cromwell. Wanaka also has More FM but this is a relay of the Queenstown More FM station.
Central Otago's More FM is now networked from Studios in Queenstown.
Alexandra also features a number of local FM stations that operate on the New Zealand Government's "low power FM" scheme, including Classic Gold on 107.3FM and XS80s on 106.7FM. These stations operate on short range covering the main township only.
Education
Primary schools
The Terrace School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of.Alexandra School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of.
St Gerard's School is a co-educational state-integrated Catholic primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of.
Secondary schools
is a co-educational state secondary school for Year 9 to 13 students, with a roll of as of.Mayors
Alexandra is now administered by the Central Otago District Council, with the current mayor being Tim Cadogan.Many streets in Alexandra are named after mayors of the former Alexandra Borough.
| 1867–1897 | 1898–1940 | 1940–1989 |
| Robert Finlay 1867–1870 and 1886–1889 | James Kelman 1898–1899 and 1901–1903 | Archibald McKellar 1940–1947 |
| John Chapple 1871–1872 | Henry Symes 1900–1901 | Bert Fox 1947–1953 |
| William Beresford 1872–1873 | George Spencer 1903–1906 | George Campbell 1953–1959 |
| James Samson 1873–1878 | Henry Schaumann 1906–1910 | Keith Blackmore 1959–1980 |
| James Rivers 1878–1879 and 1894–1896 | J Gregg 1910–1911 | Ross Close 1980–1986 |
| George McDonald 1882–1884 | Edward Marslin 1911–1915 | Russell Poole 1986–1989 |
| JE Thompson 1884–1886 | Archibald Ashworth 1915–1917 | |
| William Theyers 1890–1893 and 1895–1896 | William Black 1917–1927 | |
| J Simmonds 1893–1984 and 1896–1897 | William Bringans 1927–1940 |