Situated in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, Mansfield is surrounded by grazing land and mountain forests, with the area well-known for its stunning scenery. It is approximately 180 kilometres north-east of Melbourne by road. Mansfield was formerly heavily dependent on farming and logging, but is now a tourist-centre. It is the support town for the large Australia ski resort Mount Buller. It is associated with the high country tradition of alpine grazing, celebrated in the film made around Mansfield, near the now famous Craigs Hut, called ‘The Man From Snowy River’ (based on a poem by Banjo Patterson).