Know about the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme in Australia and how it changed the country's cultural landscape
Learn about the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme in southeastern New South Wales, Australia.
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News •
VIDEO: Snowy Mountains local shares video of spring snow
• Nov. 8, 2026, 12:53 AM ET (ABC News (Australia))
Transcript
JACK EVANS: On the 17th of October, 1949, huge blasts marked the beginning of one of the world's biggest engineering projects-- the Snowy Mountains electric scheme. The government's plan was to use all the melting snow up here by directing all of that water into rivers and through huge turbines. That's called hydro electricity. Some of the water was also directed inland to help water farmers' crops, too.
At the time, some people thought it was pretty controversial to build a power station in the middle of the Kosciuszko National Park. Environmentalists were concerned about the impact it might have on the environment. But the project still went ahead, and it took 25 long years to complete. Roads were bulldozed through the ranges, mountains were dug into a series of connecting tunnels, and wide gullies were turned into dams. Nearly 100,000 people worked on the construction of the massive power station, and many of them were immigrants from different countries.
INTERVIEWER: And your name?
IMMIGRANT 1: [INAUDIBLE]
INTERVIEWER: And where are you from?
IMMIGRANT 1: [INAUDIBLE]
IMMIGRANT 2: England.
IMMIGRANT 3: Denmark.
IMMIGRANT 4: Greece.
IMMIGRANT 5: Australia.
INTERVIEWER: Well, we're a pretty mixed bag. I'm from Melbourne.
(SINGING) Roll, roll, roll on your way. Snowy river roll on your way.
EVANS: During the 1940s, a lot of people were leaving their countries looking for work to start a new life. So the Australian government started an international campaign to encourage them to come to Australia to work on the Snowy Mountains scheme. It was incredibly popular, and those workers brought with them their families and their culture. But the conditions were really tough for the workers, and their families had to adapt to freezing temperatures and the isolated location.
IMMIGRANT 6: When I was 14, we came to Australia and went to Adaminaby. My experience there was like I was coming to a Wild West town.
EVANS: Today the Snowy Mountains scheme is still considered one of the largest and most ambitious engineering projects ever undertaken in Australia. Not only did it change the way Australia sourced its energy, it also transformed our cultural landscape and helped build the multicultural nation we know today.
At the time, some people thought it was pretty controversial to build a power station in the middle of the Kosciuszko National Park. Environmentalists were concerned about the impact it might have on the environment. But the project still went ahead, and it took 25 long years to complete. Roads were bulldozed through the ranges, mountains were dug into a series of connecting tunnels, and wide gullies were turned into dams. Nearly 100,000 people worked on the construction of the massive power station, and many of them were immigrants from different countries.
INTERVIEWER: And your name?
IMMIGRANT 1: [INAUDIBLE]
INTERVIEWER: And where are you from?
IMMIGRANT 1: [INAUDIBLE]
IMMIGRANT 2: England.
IMMIGRANT 3: Denmark.
IMMIGRANT 4: Greece.
IMMIGRANT 5: Australia.
INTERVIEWER: Well, we're a pretty mixed bag. I'm from Melbourne.
(SINGING) Roll, roll, roll on your way. Snowy river roll on your way.
EVANS: During the 1940s, a lot of people were leaving their countries looking for work to start a new life. So the Australian government started an international campaign to encourage them to come to Australia to work on the Snowy Mountains scheme. It was incredibly popular, and those workers brought with them their families and their culture. But the conditions were really tough for the workers, and their families had to adapt to freezing temperatures and the isolated location.
IMMIGRANT 6: When I was 14, we came to Australia and went to Adaminaby. My experience there was like I was coming to a Wild West town.
EVANS: Today the Snowy Mountains scheme is still considered one of the largest and most ambitious engineering projects ever undertaken in Australia. Not only did it change the way Australia sourced its energy, it also transformed our cultural landscape and helped build the multicultural nation we know today.
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