Rubicon is a
locality
Locality may refer to:
* Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada
* Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England
* Locality (linguistics)
* Locality (settlement)
* Suburbs and localitie ...
in central
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, located in the
Shire of Murrindindi
The Shire of Murrindindi is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in the Hume (region), Hume region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the north-east part of the state. It covers an area of and, in Au ...
. It is situated on the
Rubicon River
The Rubicon (; ; ) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, just south of Cesena and north of Rimini. It was known as ''Fiumicino'' until 1933, when it was identified with the ancient river Rubicon, crossed by Julius Caesar in 49 BC.
The ri ...
.
In the
2021 census, Rubicon had a population of 44.
Much of the locality consists today of forested protected areas, variously including the
Yarra Ranges National Park
Yarra Ranges National Park is located in the Central Highlands (Victoria), Central Highlands of Australia's southeastern States and territories of Australia, state, Victoria (state), Victoria, roughly 107 km (66.5 mi) northeast of Melb ...
, Rubicon State Forest, Rubicon Valley Historic and Cultural Features Reserve, Marysville State Forest, Mount Bullfight Nature Conservation Reserve and Cathedral Range State Park.
It was once home to a significant timber industry, which was connected to the railhead at
Alexandra
Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...
by a network of tramways. It was severely damaged by the 1939
Black Friday bushfires
The Black Friday bushfires of 13 January 1939, in Victoria, Australia, were part of the devastating 1938–1939 bushfire season in Australia, which saw bushfires burning for the whole summer, and ash falling as far away as New Zealand. It was c ...
and the local sawmill industry was phased out by 1953, though the forest continues to be used for logging to some extent. The
Rubicon Hydro-Electric Scheme was established in 1928–29 to harness electricity from the Rubicon River and
Royston River, and still functions today, though providing a far smaller proportion of the state's electricity than it once did. It is listed on the
Victorian Heritage Register
The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. ...
.
A small township, Tin Hut, servicing the timber and hydroelectric workers, was located at the corner of Royston Road and Herbs Road. It formerly had a state school (Rubicon Junction State School), post office and store. The 1947 post office and store building is the last surviving building from the settlement; it closed in June 1964 and is now privately owned. One of the three camping areas at Rubicon is located at the former townsite.
Climate
Due to its latitude and elevation, Rubicon is frequently affected by snow and chilling rains throughout much of the year. Climate data are sourced from the old Rubicon S.E.C. Sawmill at an elevation of . Rubicon is one of the coldest localities by mean maximum temperature in mainland Australia, second only to
Aberfeldy. On average there are 8.7 snowy days annually at the sawmill.
It is the second wettest locality in Victoria behind
Bogong, possibly the wettest anywhere in mainland Australia's temperate zone. Cloud cover is extremely heavy in the winter months, as evident by the afternoon relative humidity readings. There is a pronounced autumnal lag, with March being notably warmer than December.
References
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Towns in Victoria (state)
Shire of Murrindindi