The Snowy Mountains Scheme, 1949
To Economy
© The National Archives of Australia
The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme was devised in 1949 to harness energy created through capturing and diverting the melting snow of the mountains to the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers to service farms in western New South Wales and inland Victoria. It employed a staggering 100 000 workers comprised of almost 30 different nationalities, many of whom were European refugees escaping the aftermath of World War II.
This staggeringly ambitious work was in 1969 noted as one of 7 engineering marvels of the world and today produces 10% of all electricity in New South Wales. It was a landmark enterprise in New South Wales history as it firmed the State's reputation in Australia's post war climate as resourceful and enterprising.
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