Editing Snowy Mountains Scheme (section)

==History==
[[File:Official launch of the Snowy Mountains Hydro project at Adaminaby in 1949.jpg|thumb|Official launch of the Snowy Mountains Scheme at [[Adaminaby]]. From the left, [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]], [[Ben Chifley]]; [[Governor-General of Australia|Governor-General]], [[William McKell]] and Minister for Works and Housing, [[Nelson Lemmon]], 1949.]]
[[File:William Hudson plaque at the Cooma Visitors Centre.jpg|thumb|[[William Hudson (engineer)|William Hudson]] KBE FRS Commissioner Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Authority 1949-1967. Plaque at [[Cooma]] Visitors Centre.]]
[[File:Snowy hydro murray 1 machine hall floor.jpg|thumb|The Machine Hall Floor of [[Murray-1 Hydroelectric Power Station]]]]
[[File:SnowyMountainsNSWTalbingoDam20050423a.JPG|thumb|[[Talbingo Dam]]. 16 major dams store water in the scheme. Many were constructed in rugged wilderness areas.]]
[[File:Lakeeucumbenefrom sky.JPG|thumb|Lake Eucumbene from the air]]

===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 [[debouch]]ing 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 [[River source|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.<ref name=ABS />

Following [[World War II]], the [[Government of New South Wales]] proposed that the flow of the Snowy River be diverted into the Murrumbidgee River for irrigation and agricultural purposes. There was little emphasis placed on the generation of power. A counter proposal by the [[Government of Victoria]] involved a greater generation of power, and involved diversion of the Snowy River to the Murray River.<ref name=ABS /> Additionally, the [[Government of South Australia]] was concerned that downstream flows on the Murray River would be severely jeopardised.<ref name=Bergmann>{{cite book|title=The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme: How did it Manage Without an EIA?|first=Michael|last=Bergmann|date=February 1999|isbn=0-7315-3403-4|publisher=[[Australian National University]]}}</ref>

The [[Commonwealth of Australia|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.<ref name=ABS />

However, limitations in the [[Constitution of Australia|Australian Constitution]] meant that the Commonwealth Government was limited in the powers it could exercise, without the agreement of the [[States and territories of Australia|States]].<ref name=Bergmann /> Subsequently, the Commonwealth Government introduced legislation into the [[Parliament of Australia|Federal Parliament]] under its defence power;<ref name=Bergmann /> and enacted the {{Cite Legislation AU |Cth|act|smhpa1949251949460|Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Act 1949}} that enabled the formation of the [[Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority]].<ref name=ABS /> Ten years later, the relevant States and Territories introduced their own corresponding legislation and in January 1959 the Snowy Mountains Agreement was reached between the Commonwealth and the States.<ref name=Bergmann />

The legislation created the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority that was given responsibility for the final evaluation, design and construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme.  The final agreed plan was to divert the waters of the Snowy Mountains region to provide increased electricity generating capacity and to provide irrigation water for the dry west. It was "greeted with enthusiasm by the people of Australia" and was seen to be "a milestone towards full national development".{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

The chief engineer, [[New Zealand]]-born [[William Hudson (engineer)|William Hudson]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/hudson.html|work=The New Zealand Edge: Heroes: Builders|title=William Hudson|publisher=IP Holdings Limited|editor=Sweeney, Brian|year=2011|access-date=5 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016102259/http://www.nzedge.com/heroes/hudson.html|archive-date=16 October 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref> (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,<ref>{{Cite Australian Dictionary of Biography|last=Sparke|first=Eric|id2=hudson-sir-william-10563|title=Sir William Hudson (1896–1978)|year=1996|volume=14|access-date=20 October 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110415074416/http://adbonline.anu.edu.au/biogs/A140579b.htm |archive-date=15 April 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref> had a significant effect on the cultural mix of Australia.

=== Construction ===
[[File:Cabramurra July 2011.jpg|thumb|[[Cabramurra]], Australia's highest town, is a Snowy Scheme company town.]]
[[File:Lake Eucumbene in April 2012.JPG|thumb|[[Lake Eucumbene]] flooded the township of [[Adaminaby]]. It is the largest reservoir in the Scheme, with a capacity some nine times that of [[Sydney Harbour]].]]
[[File:Tumut3GeneratingStation.jpg|thumb|Tumut 3 generating station]]
[[File:Towards Kosciuszko from Kangaroo Ridge in winter.jpg|thumb|[[Mount Kosciuszko]] and the [[Snowy Mountains|Main Range]]. Water from [[Snowy Mountains]] snow melt is used to generate electricity and divert water for irrigation.]]
[[File:Jindabyne.jpg|thumb|[[Jindabyne]], as viewed from across [[Lake Jindabyne]]]]
[[File:Blowering Reservoir from Blowering Dam.JPG|thumb|[[Blowering Dam]]]]
[[File:Tumut Pond aerial.jpg|thumb|Aerial photo of [[Tumut Pond Dam|Tumut Pond Reservoir and Dam]], 2009]]
[[File:Snowy Scheme Museum.JPG|thumb|The [[Snowy Scheme Museum]], in [[Adaminaby]]]]
[[File:Guthega ski resort.jpg|thumb|[[Guthega|Guthega Ski Resort]] 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Agreement between the Governments of Australia and the United States relating to Technical Assistance for the Snowy Mountains Project [1951] ATS 22|url=http://www3.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1951/24.html|website=Australian Treaties Library|publisher=Australasian Legal Information Institute|access-date=17 April 2017|archive-date=13 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413072946/http://www3.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/1951/24.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> A loan for $100 million was obtained from the [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development|World Bank]] in 1962.<ref>World Bank document, '[http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/900161468220168590/pdf/multi-page.pdf Appraisal of the Snowy Mountains Project Australia'], 11 January 1962, (accessed 20 October 2019)</ref>

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 {{AUD}}820 million; a dollar value equivalent in 1999 and 2004 to A$6&nbsp;[[1,000,000,000|billion]].<ref>{{cite speech|last=Besley|first=M. A. (Tim)|url=http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=398|title=The Need for Infrastructure Projects — Then and Now <!-- |venue=Alstom International Association (The Overseas Club) -->|date=11 August 1999|work=ATSE Focus No 109, November/December 1999|publisher=Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE)|access-date=9 March 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718124401/http://www.atse.org.au/index.php?sectionid=398|archive-date=18 July 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|last=Anderson |first=John |author-link=John Anderson (Australian politician) |url=http://www.ministers.dotars.gov.au/ja/pressconf/2004/APC9_2004.htm |format=transcript |date=7 June 2004 |title=AusLink, Peter Garrett, US relations, Iraq, Federal election |work=Ministers' speeches |publisher=[[Department of Transport and Regional Services (Australia)]] |access-date=9 March 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060919222034/http://www.ministers.dotars.gov.au/ja/pressconf/2004/APC9_2004.htm |archive-date=19 September 2006 }}</ref><ref name = "ASCE"/> Around two thirds of the workforce employed in the construction of the scheme were immigrant workers, originating from over thirty countries. The official death toll of workers on the Scheme stands at 121 people. Some {{convert|1600|km}} of roads and tracks were constructed, seven townships and over 100 camps were built to enable construction of the 16 major dams, seven hydroelectric power stations, two pumping stations, {{convert|145|km}} of tunnel and {{convert|80|km}} of pipelines and aqueducts. Just 2% of the construction work is visible from above ground.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{citation|title=Information plaque|publisher=[[Snowy Scheme Museum]]|location=Adaminaby}}</ref>

Two of the towns constructed for the scheme are now permanent; [[Cabramurra, New South Wales|Cabramurra]], the highest town in Australia; and [[Khancoban, New South Wales|Khancoban]]. [[Cooma, New South Wales|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 [[Eucumbene Dam#Lake Eucumbene|Lake Eucumbene]], [[Jindabyne Dam#Lake Jindabyne|Lake Jindabyne]] and [[Jounama Dam|Jounama Reservoir]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/adaminaby-20081113-5yk8.html|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|title=Adaminaby|date=1 January 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606173529/http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-factsheet/adaminaby-20081113-5yk8.html|archive-date=6 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snowymountains.com.au/about/towns/jindabyne/|title=Towns: Jindabyne|work=About the Snowy Mountains|publisher=Tourism Snowy Mountains|year=2012|access-date=5 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513053202/http://www.snowymountains.com.au/about/towns/jindabyne/|archive-date=13 May 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snowymountains.com.au/about/towns/talbingo/|title=Towns: Talbingo|work=About the Snowy Mountains|publisher=Tourism Snowy Mountains|year=2012|access-date=5 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130627220513/http://www.snowymountains.com.au/about/towns/talbingo/|archive-date=27 June 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> 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.<ref name="thredbo.com.au"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.visitnsw.com/town/Guthega.aspx |title=Guthega |publisher=Visit NSW |date=24 July 2012 |access-date=20 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812042143/http://www.visitnsw.com/town/Guthega.aspx |archive-date=12 August 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

The Scheme is in an area of {{convert|5124|km2}}, almost entirely within the [[Kosciuszko National Park]]. The design of the scheme was modelled on that of the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]].<ref name="ASCE" /> Over 100,000 people from over 30 countries were employed during its construction, providing employment for many [[Post war migrant arrivals, Australia|recently arrived immigrants]], and was important in Australia's post-[[World War II|war]] economic and social development. Seventy percent of all the workers were migrants.<ref name="The Snowy Mountains Scheme">{{cite web|url=http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/snowyscheme/ |title=The Snowy Mountains Scheme |work=Culture and recreation portal |publisher=[[Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (Australia)]] |year=2008 |access-date=20 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830103344/http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/snowyscheme/ |archive-date=30 August 2007 }}</ref> During construction of the tunnels, a number of railways were employed to convey spoil from worksites and to deliver personnel, concrete and equipment throughout.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Tunnel Railways of the Snowy Mountains Scheme|last1=Wright|first1=H. J.|last2=Shellshear|first2=W. M.|publisher=[[Australian Railway History]] |journal=Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin |date=September 1971|pages=193–210}}</ref>

The project used Australia's first [[Second-generation computer|transistorised computer]]; one of the first in the world. Called 'Snowcom', the computer was used from 1960 to 1967.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/levelThree.asp?pageID=69|title=The Engineering|work=Snowy Mountains Scheme|publisher=[[Snowy Hydro|Snowy Hydro Limited]]|year=2007|access-date=20 July 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706112401/http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/levelThree.asp?pageID=69|archive-date=6 July 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

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]] [[Electricity generation|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.{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

The Scheme also has a significant role in providing security of water flows to the [[Murray-Darling Basin]]. The Scheme provides approximately {{convert|2100|GL}} of water a year to the Basin, providing additional water for an irrigated agriculture industry worth about A$3&nbsp;bn per annum,<ref name="The Snowy Mountains Scheme"/> representing more than 40% of the gross value of the nation's agricultural production.

The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, is one of the most complex integrated water and hydro-electric power schemes in the world and is listed as a "world-class civil engineering project" by the [[American Society of Civil Engineers]].<ref name="ASCE">{{cite web |url=https://www.asce.org/about-civil-engineering/history-and-heritage/historic-landmarks/snowy-mountains-hydro-electric-scheme |title=Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=American Society of Civil Engineers |access-date=29 January 2022}}</ref> The scheme interlocks seven power stations and 16 major dams through {{convert|145|km}} of trans-mountain tunnels and {{convert|80|km}} of aqueducts. The history of the Snowy Scheme reveals its important role in building post World War II Australia.

Sir [[William Hudson (engineer)|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'.<ref>{{cite web|work=Snowy! Power of a nation|title=Investigating, managing, and building the Scheme|url=http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/snowy/investigating.htm|publisher=[[Powerhouse Museum]]|access-date=5 May 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015232837/http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/hsc/snowy/investigating.htm|archive-date=15 October 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The Scheme was completed with the official opening of the [[Tumut 3|Tumut 3 Power Station]] project by the [[Governor-General of Australia]], [[Paul Hasluck|Sir Paul Hasluck]] {{post-nominals|country=AUS|GCMG|GCVO|KStJ}} on 21 October 1972.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nma.gov.au/collections-search/display?irn=79991|title=Programme for the Official Opening of the Tumut 3 Project|work=Collection search|publisher=[[National Museum of Australia]]|date=21 October 1972|access-date=5 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110321190217/http://www.nma.gov.au/collections-search/display?irn=79991|archive-date=21 March 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/sponsored-films/snowy-hydro-safety/clip3/|title = Snowy Hydro – Safety on the Snowy Scheme}}</ref>

On 16 April 1958, an elevator at Tumut 1 underground power station near Cabramurra fell about 400 feet when the cable broke, killing 4 Italian employees of a French construction firm.<ref>{{cite news|title=4 Killed Near Cabramurra |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |date=17 April 1958 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128813314}}</ref>

The official death toll during construction was 121.<ref>[https://www.naa.gov.au/home/snowy-mountains-hydro-electric-scheme Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme], [[National Archives of Australia]]</ref>

=== 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''<ref>{{cite book |first=Siobhan |last= McHugh |title=The Snowy: The People Behind the Power |via=Heinemann |orig-year=1989 |publisher=Harper Collins |year=1995}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://siobhanmchugh.org/the-snowy/ |website=Siobhan McHugh |title=The SNOWY |first=Siobhan |last=McHugh|date=6 January 2012 }}</ref> 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 [https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/snowy/ published] by New South in 2019 and its content showcased by Richard Fidler in an [https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/conversations/siobhan-mchugh/11089604 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wcs.org.au/whats-on-at-wcs/latest-news/327-premiere-of-snowy-stories-from-former-workers-and-families-of-the-snowy-mountains-scheme|title=Premiere of Snowy Stories from former workers and families of the Snowy Mountains Scheme|date=29 May 2018|website=Woden Community Service|access-date=11 July 2018}}</ref>

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."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canberratimes.com.au/canberra-news/personal-stories-of-snowy-hydro-workers-to-be-told-in-new-film-project-20180413-p4z9fh.html|title=Personal stories of Snowy Hydro workers to be told in new film project|last=Brown|first=Andrew|date=15 April 2018|website=The Canberra Times|access-date=11 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180711061621/https://www.canberratimes.com.au/canberra-news/personal-stories-of-snowy-hydro-workers-to-be-told-in-new-film-project-20180413-p4z9fh.html|archive-date=11 July 2018|url-status=live|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The films premiered 7 June 2018 at the Palace Electric Cinema in [[Acton, Australian Capital Territory|New Acton]] in Canberra and can be viewed on the [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn3SJqq7R60&list=PLnSXiCsKc_cK5ExaT0yX5G3WBF23bZSv7 Woden Community Service YouTube] Channel.

=== Current operations ===
The Scheme is operated by [[Snowy Hydro|Snowy Hydro Limited]], an [[unlisted public company]] incorporated pursuant to the {{Cite Legislation AU |Cth|act|ca2001|Corporations Act, 2001}}, owned by the Australian Federal government.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/news/share-sale-business-as-usual-at-snowy-hydro/|title=Share Sale: Business as usual at Snowy Hydro|date=2 March 2018|publisher=Snowy Hydro|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191212115047/http://www.snowyhydro.com.au/news/share-sale-business-as-usual-at-snowy-hydro/|archive-date=12 December 2019|access-date=9 April 2018}}</ref>

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.