‘A plan for the whole nation’
1949: Chifley government begins Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme
‘A plan for the whole nation’
1949: Chifley government begins Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme
Theme
Snowy Hydro Limited
In a snapshot
The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme was built between 1949 and 1972. It is Australia’s largest hydroelectricity scheme. More than 100,000 people worked on it, including migrants of more than 30 nationalities. Over the life of the project the workers built seven power stations, 16 dams, 80 kilometres of pipes, 145 kilometres of tunnels and 1600 kilometres of roads and railway tracks. The Snowy is still an important source of power and irrigation water today.
Can you find out?
1. What was the aim of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme?
2. What is hydroelectricity?
3. Who built the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, and why was this a big achievement?
Where was Australia’s first hydroelectric plant?
After the Second World War Australia needed to develop a better, more consistent power supply. Federal and state governments were under pressure to find new electricity supplies.
Coal‑fired steam turbines had supplied most of Australia’s power since at least 1894. But in 1916 a hydroelectric power plant was opened at Waddamana in central Tasmania. Power was generated at the Waddamana plant and moved to Hobart through a 100‑kilometer high‑voltage transmission line. This showed that power could be moved to where it was needed. Hydroelectricity was now a possible alternative to coal power in some places.
What was the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme?
Australia started the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme in 1949. It was a plan to take water that fell on the eastern side of the Snowy Mountains over to the western side. When the water ran down the western side it would create electricity. The water would then flow into the Murrumbidgee River and be used to irrigate (water) crops. It would then join the Murray River and flow to the sea.
Research task
Use Google maps to find the location of the Snowy Mountains. Which states and territories benefit from the Snowy Hydro-Electric Scheme?
‘The Snowy Mountains plan is the greatest single project in our history. It is a plan for the whole nation, belonging to no one State nor to any group or section.’
Who worked on the Snowy project?
This big job needed many workers. There were not enough Australians to take on this new work, so the Australian Government offered jobs to Europeans who had been displaced by the Second World War. They would come, build the project, and stay to become new Australian citizens.
People who might have been enemies during the Second World War now worked together on a big, new project. Migrants had to learn the ways of Australians, and Australians had to learn the ways of the migrants — Australians adopted many of the new foods and cultures that the migrants brought. Work on the Snowy was the start of a new life for thousands of ‘new Australians’.
‘You are no longer Czechs or Germans, you are men of the Snowy.’
National Archives Australia; A1200, L17799
What were the benefits and challenges of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme?
The Snowy was one of the most complex engineering projects in the world. Between 1949 and 1974 the workers built seven power stations, 16 dams, 80 kilometres of aqueducts, 145 kilometres of tunnels and 1600 kilometres of roads and train tracks. Only two per cent of the Scheme’s works can be seen above ground.
Research task
Do some research to find out why the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme was an Australian Government project, not a state government one.
The Scheme reached its designed output of electricity in 1974, and provides essential water for agriculture and other purposes. Local towns and villages have grown, attracting new businesses, residents and tourists. But some critics have argued that by rerouting entire river systems and denying the Snowy River its natural flow rate the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme also led to environmental damage.
The Snowy is still generating power today, producing 32 per cent of all renewable energy for Australia’s east coast mainland electricty grid. In 2018 the Liberal–National Party Coalition Government announced plans to build ‘Snowy 2.0’.
Read a longer version of this Defining Moment on the National Museum of Australia’s website.
What did you learn?
1. What was the aim of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme?
2. What is hydroelectricity?
3. Who built the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme, and why was this a big achievement?
