Mansfield is the centre of a large shire; it was made to join with the nearby town of Benalla away, to form Delatite Shire. Many people did not like this change and Mansfield became the first de-amalgamation in Victoria. Mansfield was once mainly a farming and logging town, but is now a tourist-centre. It is the support town for the large Australia ski resort Mt Buller. It is well known for the High Country tradition of alpine grazing, made famous in the movie "The Man from Snowy River". This was made around Mansfield, based on the poem by Banjo Paterson.