. From the left,
Prime Minister,
Ben Chifley;
Governor-General,
William McKell and Minister for Works and Housing,
Nelson Lemmon, 1949. KBE FRS Commissioner Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Authority 1949-1967. Plaque at
Cooma Visitors Centre. . 16 major dams store water in the scheme. Many were constructed in rugged wilderness areas.
Background In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers were subject to development and control, to meet
water supply and irrigation needs. By contrast, the Snowy River, that rose in the
Australian Alps and flowed through mountainous and practically uninhabited country until
debouching onto the river flats of East Gippsland, had never been controlled in any way, neither for the production of power nor for irrigation. A great proportion of its waters flowed eastwards into the South Pacific Ocean (the Tasman Sea). The Snowy River had the highest
headwater source of any in Australia and drew away a large proportion of the waters from the south-eastern New South Wales snowfields. It was foreseen that construction works in the Snowy Mountains could supplement the flow of the great inland rivers, provide a means for developing hydro-electric power, and increase agricultural production in the Murray and Murrumbidgee valleys. The
Commonwealth Government, looking at the national implications of the two proposals, initiated a meeting to discuss the use of the waters of the Snowy River, and a committee was set up in 1946 to examine the question on the broadest possible basis. This committee, in a report submitted in November 1948, suggested consideration of a far greater scheme than any previously put forward. It involved not only the simple question of use of the waters of the Snowy River, but consideration of the possible diversion of a number of rivers in the area, tributaries, not only of the Snowy, but of the Murray and Murrumbidgee. The recommendations of the committee were generally agreed to by a conference of Ministers representing the Commonwealth, New South Wales, and Victoria, and it was also agreed that the committee should continue its investigations. (knighted 1955), was chosen to head the scheme as Chairman of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority, and was instructed to seek workers from overseas. Hudson's employment of workers from 32 (mostly European) countries, many of whom had been at war with each other only a few years earlier, had a significant effect on the cultural mix of Australia.
Construction , Australia's highest town, is a Snowy Scheme company town. flooded the township of
Adaminaby. It is the largest reservoir in the Scheme, with a capacity some nine times that of
Sydney Harbour. and the
Main Range. Water from
Snowy Mountains snow melt is used to generate electricity and divert water for irrigation. , as viewed from across
Lake Jindabyne , 2009 , in
Adaminaby was built above
Guthega Dam. Construction of the Snowy Scheme was managed by the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority. It officially began on 17 October 1949 and took 25 years, being officially completed in 1974. An agreement between the
United States Bureau of Reclamation and Snowy Mountains Hydro to provide technical assistance and training of engineers was agreed between the
United States and Australia in
Washington, D.C., on 16 November 1951. A loan for $100 million was obtained from the
World Bank in 1962. Tunneling records were set in the construction of the Scheme and it was completed on time and on budget in 1974, at a cost of 820 million; a dollar value equivalent in 1999 and 2004 to A$6
billion. Two of the towns constructed for the scheme are now permanent;
Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia; and
Khancoban.
Cooma flourished during construction of the Scheme and remains the headquarters of the operating company of the Scheme. Townships at
Adaminaby,
Jindabyne and
Talbingo were inundated by the flooded waters from
Lake Eucumbene,
Lake Jindabyne and
Jounama Reservoir. Improved vehicular access to the high country enabled ski-resort villages to be constructed at
Thredbo and
Guthega in the 1950s by former Snowy Scheme workers who realised the potential for expansion of the Australian ski industry. The Scheme is in an area of , almost entirely within the
Kosciuszko National Park. The design of the scheme was modelled on that of the
Tennessee Valley Authority. During construction of the tunnels, a number of railways were employed to convey spoil from worksites and to deliver personnel, concrete and equipment throughout. The project used Australia's first
transistorised computer; one of the first in the world. Called 'Snowcom', the computer was used from 1960 to 1967. At the completion of the project, the Australian Government maintained much of the diverse workforce and established the
Snowy Mountains Engineering Corporation (SMEC), which is now an international engineering consultancy company. The Scheme is the largest
renewable energy generator in mainland Australia and plays an important role in the operation of the
National Electricity Market, generating approximately 67% of all renewable energy in the mainland National Electricity Market. The Snowy Scheme's primary function is as a water manager, however under the corporatised model must deliver dollar dividends to the three shareholder governments - the NSW, Commonwealth and Victorian Governments. The Scheme also has a significant role in providing security of water flows to the
Murray-Darling Basin. The Scheme provides approximately of water a year to the Basin, providing additional water for an irrigated agriculture industry worth about A$3 bn per annum, The scheme interlocks seven power stations and 16 major dams through of trans-mountain tunnels and of aqueducts. The history of the Snowy Scheme reveals its important role in building post World War II Australia. Sir
William Hudson was appointed the first commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority, serving between 1949 and 1967. The Commissioner's role was the overall management of the Scheme. He represented the Scheme at the highest levels of government, welcomed international scientists and engineers, encouraged scientific and engineering research, as well as attending many social and civic activities. Sir William's management style 'stressed cooperation between management and labour and scientific knowledge (facts) over opinion'. The Scheme was completed with the official opening of the
Tumut 3 Power Station project by the
Governor-General of Australia,
Sir Paul Hasluck on 21 October 1972.
Safety The scheme used a number of innovative approaches to many things during its construction. Notably, all vehicles driven on all parts of the scheme were required to be fitted with seatbelts for driver and front seat passenger; and that these seatbelts were required to be used. On 16 April 1958, an elevator at Tumut 1 underground power station near Cabramurra fell about 400 feet when the cable broke, killing four Italian employees of a French construction firm. The official death toll during construction was 121.
Personal stories and memoirs of work on the Snowy Scheme Various stories and memoirs have been written about work on the Snowy Mountains Scheme.
Siobhan McHugh's social history,
The Snowy: The People Behind the Power is the most prominent, having been awarded the NSW Premier's Literary Award for Non-Fiction and being the source of an ABC radio documentary series (1987) and a Film Australia documentary,
Snowy, A Dream of Growing Up (1989). Her book is based on about 90 oral histories with former Snowy workers and residents, with original recordings archived as a research collection at the State Library of New South Wales. An updated 70th anniversary edition of her book was published by New South in 2019 and its content showcased by Richard Fidler in an interview with McHugh for his popular ABC podcast, Conversations. Most recently,
Snowy Hydro, Woden Community Service, Gen S Stories and PhotoAccess partnered for a Digital Storytelling project to present a diverse collection of stories told from the point of view of seven ex-workers, two lifelong employees and a child of a Snowy worker. As part of the project, participants created short films about their experience on the Snowy Scheme, each story offering a unique perspective into what life was like building the Scheme between 1949 and 1974. The project's artistic director Jenni Savigny assisted participants to make the short films; enabling them to put together the scripts, record voice overs and edit the short films. In an interview with Andrew Brown (
The Canberra Times), Savigny said it was important to create a history of the Snowy Hydro using the participant's own words, "You just get a personal sense of what it was like to be there, and what it meant to people's lives." The films premiered 7 June 2018 at the Palace Electric Cinema in
New Acton in Canberra and can be viewed on the Woden Community Service YouTube Channel.
Current operations The Scheme is operated by
Snowy Hydro Limited, an
unlisted public company incorporated pursuant to the , owned by the Australian Federal government. There is currently further work ongoing for the expansion of the snowy scheme under the Snowy scheme 2.0 announced in 2017. Despite government support it has received many criticisms and concerns over the logistical and financial feasibility of the operation. ==Environmental concerns==