Alexandra (Neuseeland)

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.HistoryThe 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 in the King Country with the same name, the word "South" was dropped in 1867 after that 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". (The "Upper Township" was Dunstan, now Clyde.)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.