Snowy

The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme and the postwar migration that built it. Dams, tunnels, penstocks and power stations, the construction camps, and a workforce drawn from more than thirty countries. The photographic record here is thinner than the engineering deserves.

Part of Australia

76 moments in this segment.

  1. - The Elder Park migrant hostel. A hostel in central Adelaide, formerly the Schools Patriotic Fund building, fitted with dormitories, a lounge, a writing room, communal bathrooms, a dining room and a laundry. It opened as migrant accommodation in 1947. The Festival Centre now stands on the site.
  2. - Arriving at Colombo aboard New Australia. Passengers at the rail as the SS New Australia comes into Colombo Harbour in early 1955. The photograph was taken by Vaughan Evans, a British migrant travelling out under the assisted passage scheme. He later founded the Australian Association for Maritime History and donated his library to the Australian National Maritime Museum.
  3. - On deck during the voyage out. A scene aboard the SS New Australia on the run from England in early 1955, from Vaughan Evans's own series. Assisted passage cost the migrant ten pounds, which is where the term ten pound pom comes from. More than a million people came to Australia under postwar assisted migration.
  4. - A pilot boards off Ceylon. A harbour pilot climbing the ship's ladder during the stop in Ceylon, photographed by Vaughan Evans on his voyage out. The passage took about five weeks. Ships like this carried the workforce that the Snowy Scheme and the postwar factories were built on.
  5. - Italian migrant farmers of Epping (1958) | RetroFocus | ABC Australia. Italian migrant farmers of Epping (1958), published by ABC Australia. The footage depicts events of 1958. Filed as a postwar migration record, from footage of 1958 held by ABC Australia.
  6. - Cooma & Snowy Mountains Circa 1959. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. The footage depicts events of 1959. Filed as a postwar migration record, from footage of 1959 held by cyberoocns.
  7. - A Snowy Authority fire truck. A 1960 Land Rover operated by the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority, fitted out by Firefly of London and photographed at a classic vehicle event in 2008. The Authority ran its own townships, roads, hospitals and emergency services across the construction area. It was effectively a state within the state for two decades.
  8. - Vietnamese Boat People Arrive in Darwin (1976). ), published by ABCLibrarySales and concerning Northern Territory. Vietnamese arrivals from the mid 1970s changed the shape of Australian migration. The footage depicts events of 1976. Filed as a postwar migration record, from footage of 1976 held by ABCLibrarySales.
  9. - Water in the Eucumbene valley. The reservoir photographed by Naomi Jackson on 5 November 2006, during a long drought. Storage levels here fell far enough in the 2000s to expose ground that had been under water for fifty years. The lake is also a trout fishery.
  10. - The remains of old Adaminaby. Foundations and stumps on the shore of Lake Eucumbene, exposed when the water is low. The town of Adaminaby was moved in the 1950s to make way for the reservoir, with about a hundred buildings relocated and the rest left. Drought years bring the old street pattern back into view.
  11. - Water pipes into the Murray station. Penstocks running down the hillside into the station building, with the authority's logo on the wall. The uploader notes the file name is wrong and this is Murray 1. Sixteen power stations and pumping stations were built across the Scheme in total.
  12. - The shops at Talbingo. Part of the small shopping centre in Talbingo, another township built for the Scheme. The original Talbingo village was flooded by the reservoir and the town rebuilt on a new site. The pattern of moving settlements to make room for water repeats across the region.
  13. - Snowy Mountains dams Australia. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Cyberheritage Steve Johnson in 2009.
  14. - Guthega power station. The first power station of the Snowy Mountains Scheme to generate, seen from the visitors car park. Guthega came online in 1955, six years after the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Power Act passed in 1949. The Scheme took a further twenty years to finish.
  15. - The Murrumbidgee below the dam. The river as it runs on a wet afternoon in late winter, immediately downstream of the diversion. Environmental flows for the Snowy and the upper Murrumbidgee have been argued over since the 1990s. An agreement to return a share of the Snowy's flow was reached in 2002.
  16. - The Hudson plaque at Cooma. A memorial to William Hudson, Commissioner of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority from 1949 to 1967, at the visitor centre in Cooma. Hudson recruited across Europe and is associated with the instruction that workers were all Australians now. Cooma was the Scheme's headquarters town.
  17. - Sculpture at Bonegilla. A memorial sculpture at the site of the Bonegilla reception centre on the Murray, which processed more than 300,000 new arrivals between 1947 and 1971. Many were sent from here to work on the Snowy. Conditions at the camp caused a riot in 1961.
  18. - The hotel at Khancoban. The pub in a town built by the Authority to house workers on the western side of the Scheme. Khancoban was a construction settlement that outlived the construction. Its population fell sharply once the works finished.
  19. - Khancoban community hall. A hall in one of the purpose built Snowy townships. The Authority provided housing, schools, halls and shops as a condition of getting a workforce into the mountains at all. Thirty three nationalities were represented among the workers by the Scheme's own account.
  20. - The school at Khancoban. A public school in a town created for dam construction. Families followed the workers, which meant schools followed the families. Children in these towns grew up speaking a mix of languages.
  21. - Multiculturalism back on the agenda. (Australia). Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by ABC News (Australia) in 2011.
  22. - Once Upon a Time In Cabramatta | Trailer | Watch On SBS. Once Upon a Time In Cabramatta, published by SBS On Demand. Postwar and later migration reshaped particular suburbs and streets. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by SBS On Demand in 2011.
  23. - Ten Pound Poms reunite. (Australia) and concerning New South Wales. The Assisted Passage Migration Scheme brought over one million British subjects. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by ABC News (Australia) in 2012.
  24. - Lake Eucumbene. The largest storage in the Scheme, with Mount Cobrabald in the centre background and the Jagungal Wilderness beyond. Eucumbene holds several times the volume of Sydney Harbour. It is the balancing reservoir the whole system draws on.
  25. - Blowering Reservoir. The view upstream from the dam wall on the Tumut River. Blowering was built to regulate the water released through the Tumut stations for irrigation downstream. Power generation and irrigation supply were always the same project.
  26. - Mural at the Snowy Scheme Museum. A picture mural inside the museum at Adaminaby, the town the Scheme relocated. The museum was set up by former workers and holds equipment, records and photographs from the construction period. Its collection is largely donated by the people who did the work.
  27. - Tantangara Dam. A concrete gravity dam across the upper Murrumbidgee, completed in 1960. It diverts most of the river's headwater flow into Lake Eucumbene through a tunnel. What continues downstream is a fraction of what the river once carried.
  28. - The bridge at Tantangara. A crossing upstream towards the dam wall on the road built to reach it. Access roads were one of the Scheme's largest works, cut through country that had almost none. They opened the high plains to traffic for the first time.
  29. - Murray 1 power station. The Murray 1 station on the western fall of the range, taking water diverted from the Snowy through tunnels under the mountains. Murray 1 and Murray 2 were commissioned in the 1960s. The Scheme's sixteen major dams and seven stations were built almost entirely underground or in remote alpine country.
  30. - Transmission cuttings over the Alps. Cleared strips carrying high voltage lines from the Snowy stations towards the cities, photographed from a regional flight between Sydney and Albury. Trees are felled along the route to prevent arcing and to allow maintenance access. The lines are the part of the Scheme that reaches every household that uses its power.
  31. - Utopia: Snowy Mountains Scheme. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by ABC Entertainment in 2014.
  32. - The monument at Greta camp. A memorial marking the migrant camp at Greta in the Hunter Valley, a former army camp converted to hold new arrivals. Camps like this were the first Australian address for hundreds of thousands of Europeans. Almost nothing of the buildings survives.
  33. - Inflow pipes at Guthega Dam. Steel pipes feeding water into the dam, rated at a combined 28.3 cubic metres per second. The Scheme's engineering premise was to turn water that ran east to the sea back west through the mountains for irrigation, generating power on the way. Everything else follows from that inversion.
  34. - A plaque for a moved town. A memorial recording the removal of Adaminaby as a consequence of the Scheme. Relocation was compulsory and compensation was contested. The Scheme's national story rarely includes the towns it displaced.
  35. - 00012. 2016.
  36. - Power From The Snow. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by NFSA Film Australia in 2017.
  37. - Snowy Scheme Defining Moments presentation. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by National Museum of Australia in 2017.
  38. - Murray 1 Power Station Archive Footage. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2017.
  39. - Ted Egan's Snowy Mountains Preview. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Gregory Middleton in 2017.
  40. - Snowy Mountain Hydro Project And Australian Oil Refining, 1950s - Film 99847. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by HuntleyFilmArchives in 2018.
  41. - (FULL VERSION) Snowy: Stories from former workers and families of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Woden Community Service in 2018.
  42. - Tumut 3 and its six penstocks. Six white pipes drop from Talbingo Reservoir to the machine hall below. The photograph was taken on a summer afternoon with the station idle, which is why the water is flat. Tumut 3 is a pumped storage station, capable of pushing water back uphill when power is cheap.
  43. - Talbingo Reservoir. The upper storage for the Tumut 3 station, held behind a rockfill dam completed in 1971. Cumulus builds over the ranges behind it in summer. The reservoir is the working head of water for the largest station in the Scheme.
  44. - Snowy 2.0 - about the pumped-hydro project (Dec 2018). ), published by Snowy Hydro. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2018.
  45. - Snowy Hydro – 70 Years of Snowy. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2019.
  46. - New Snowy hydro scheme labelled 'worst possible project'. ', published by SBS News. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by SBS News in 2019.
  47. - Snowy 70th anniversary Tommy Tomasi. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2019.
  48. - Defining Moments: Snowy Mountains Hydro. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by National Museum of Australia in 2020.
  49. - Treasures Gallery Digital Tour: Model of Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Development. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by National Library of Australia in 2020.
  50. - A model of the Scheme at Cooma. A three dimensional model showing the dams, tunnels and stations laid across the mountains. Reading the Scheme requires seeing it as one hydraulic system rather than a set of separate structures. The model stands in the town the Authority ran it from.
  51. - Celebrating 70 years of the Snowy Scheme. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2020.
  52. - Lady Eileen Hudson TBM event. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2021.
  53. - TBM Kirsten commissioning. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2021.
  54. - A hostel Quonset hut at Fairy Meadow. Hut 201 from the Balgownie migrant workers hostel, now in use as a child care centre at Fairy Meadow near Wollongong. Corrugated huts of this type housed families for years at a time. Their survival in later use is how most of this housing is still visible at all.
  55. - State government unveils half-a-billion dollar plan to grow snowy mountains region | ABC News. State government unveils half-a-billion dollar plan to grow snowy mountains region, published by ABC News (Australia). The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by ABC News (Australia) in 2022.
  56. - National Trust (NSW) Cooma Cottage Appeal. (NSW) and concerning New South Wales. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by National Trust (NSW) in 2022.
  57. - Jindabyne Dam from Kosciuszko Road. The dam that impounds Lake Jindabyne on the Snowy River, completed in 1967. It was the last major dam of the Scheme. The town of Jindabyne was moved to higher ground to make room for the water.
  58. - Lake Jindabyne. The reservoir filling the valley where the old town stood. Buildings that could not be relocated were demolished or left to be covered. The lake is now the recreational centre of the region in summer.
  59. - The multi-faith church at Talbingo. Talbingo's only church building, shared between Uniting, Anglican and Catholic congregations. A single shared building was the practical answer in a town too small for three. The Scheme's workforce came from a range of denominations and none.
  60. - Memorial plaques at Talbingo. Plaques on a memorial wall beside the community church, including two recalling the school's headmaster and his wife. Small memorials of this kind are the local record of a town that exists because of a dam. The original village is under the reservoir.
  61. - Driving the beautiful Snowy Mountains Highway in the snow – Tumut to Cooma [4K]. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Great Aussie Drives in 2024.
  62. - From Italy to the Australian alps, Charlie joined the Snowy Hydro 'adventure' | ABC Australia. From Italy to the Australian alps, Charlie joined the Snowy Hydro 'adventure', published by ABC Australia. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by ABC Australia in 2024.
  63. - 4. 'Populate or Perish'. ', published by SBS Audio. The Assisted Passage Migration Scheme brought over one million British subjects. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by SBS Audio in 2024.
  64. - How Snowy 2.0 unearthed an ancient mystery | Snowy STEM Academy. How Snowy 2.0 unearthed an ancient mystery, published by Snowy Hydro. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2025.
  65. - Snowy Hydro - Best of the Years (VHS). ), published by AusUmatic. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by AusUmatic in 2025.
  66. - Bonegilla documentary: From the rubble of Berlin to Australia - Bonegilla-Doku: Aus den Trümmern.... Bonegilla documentary: From the rubble of Berlin to Australia - Bonegilla-Doku: Aus den Trümmer.., published by SBS Audio and concerning Victoria. Bonegilla in Victoria was the largest postwar migrant reception centre. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by SBS Audio in 2026.
  67. - Snowy 2.0 Project Update | Catching up with Florence!. Snowy 2.0 Project Update, published by Snowy Hydro. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2026, running 3 minutes (arGwtPMvI-0).
  68. - Snowy 2.0 Project Update | Diffuser Completion at Tantangara. Snowy 2.0 Project Update, published by Snowy Hydro. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2026, running 2 minutes (rYgHF07NXRs).
  69. - The Truth About Snowy Hydro 2.0: A Deep Dive. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Electrify This in 2026.
  70. - Snowy Hydro 2: Australia's Failing Pumped Storage Power Station. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Megaprojects in 2026.
  71. - Snowy 2.0 Project Update | Upstream Surge Shaft. Snowy 2.0 Project Update, published by Snowy Hydro and concerning New South Wales. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2026, running 3 minutes.
  72. - Snowy 2.0 Project Update | Massive Hydropower Components Arrive on Site. Snowy 2.0 Project Update, published by Snowy Hydro. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2026, running 3 minutes.
  73. - Snowy Mountains Scheme: How 100,000 Workers Built the Impossible. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by The Photographed Past in 2026.
  74. - Workers on this megaproject site are nearly 2 hours from emergency services! | Snowy 2.0. Workers on this megaproject site are nearly 2 hours from emergency services, published by Snowy Hydro. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2026, running 2 minutes.
  75. - Snowy 2.0 Was Announced at Two Billion Dollars. The Tunnel Still Is Not Through. 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by The Australian Wealth Architect in 2026.
  76. - Snowy 2.0 Project Update | Power Station Caverns Nearing the End of Excavation | August 2026. Snowy 2.0 Project Update, published by Snowy Hydro. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was built between 1949 and 1974 by over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries, about seventy percent of them migrants, and 121 workers died. Filed as a postwar migration record, posted by Snowy Hydro in 2026, running 2 minutes.
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