Australian
Screen

an NFSA website

All titles produced by SMHEA Film Unit

13 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year

1950s

Snowy Hydro – The Snowy Flows Inland sponsored film – 1954

Most of the Snowy Hydro productions followed the format and style of this film – a conventional instructional documentary complete with authoritative voice-over.

Snowy Hydro – Conservation in the Snowy Mountains sponsored film – 1955

This film traces the history of soil erosion in the Snowy Mountains and demonstrates the approach taken by the Snowy Mountains Scheme to counteract the problem.

Snowy Hydro – Conquest of the Rivers sponsored film – 1957

This is essentially a recruitment film, targeting the types of workers whose adaptability and skills base would well serve the Snowy Hydro scheme’s requirements.

Snowy Hydro – Operation Adaminaby sponsored film – 1958

In an extraordinarily florid finale, reminiscent of wartime propaganda, the film pays tribute to the residents and their noble act in moving the town of Adaminaby.

1960s

Snowy Hydro – Sound and Safe sponsored film – 1963

Produced in 1963, this safety film focuses on 'drill and blast’ tunnelling on the Snowy Mountains Scheme in an effort to save lives and prevent injury.

Snowy Hydro - Where Men and Mountains Meet sponsored film – 1963

This film is a fascinating depiction of the national ideal of postwar masculinity, looking at the spectrum of workers involved in the Snowy Mountains Scheme.

Snowy Hydro – Safety on the Snowy Scheme sponsored film – 1964

The culture of the all-male workplace was one where risk taking and daring were highly valued, an environment intensified by the experiences of two world wars.

Snowy Hydro – The Jindabyne Story sponsored film – c1965

Although the film talks about the potential loss of the history of the region, the prevailing sense is that the new town of Jindabyne will do very well.

Snowy Hydro – Gardens of the Snowy Mountains sponsored film – 1967

This Snowy Hydro film encourages visitors to the area to take a wider look around, but also counters any criticism of the vastly expanded settlement of the region.

Snowy Hydro – The Construction of Geehi Dam sponsored film – 1967

This film is a fairly technical description of the construction of Geehi Dam in the Snowy Mountains Scheme, located in a remote area of Kosciuszko National Park.

Snowy Hydro - Snowy 69 sponsored film – 1969

This 1969 film makes a concerted effort to explain the many facets of the Snowy Hydro scheme to the public, including how the system was being built.

Snowy Hydro – The Snowy–Murray Development sponsored film – 1969

There’s no exciting dramatic structure here, but to watch it is to gain an insight into the size and complexity of such a large-scale civil engineering venture.

1970s

Snowy Hydro - The Best of the Years sponsored film – 1974

This 1974 documentary examines the multicultural workforce and its achievement in building one of the world’s largest hydroelectric schemes to that date.