Australian
Screen

Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows the final phase in the construction of the Eucumbene Reservoir for the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme. It opens with shots of heavy construction vehicles working on a dam wall next to the newly created Lake Eucumbene. The clip shows the final house from old Adaminaby, which was flooded to create the Reservoir, being transported by truck to new Adaminaby as the waters begin to rise. A shot of the new town is followed by a succession of images that depict the old township partially submerged by water. Over these images, the narrator refers to the sacrifice of residents in making way for progress. The clip is accompanied by orchestral music.

Educational value points

• The construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, an aspect of which is illustrated in the clip, was Australia’s most important post-Second World War project. A major engineering feat completed between 1949 and 1974, the Scheme diverts water from the Snowy Mountains through hydro-electric power stations to generate electricity. The water is then released into the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers for irrigation. The idea of harnessing the waters of the Snowy River was first proposed in 1884. Construction of the Scheme, which included 16 dams, dramatically altered much of the landscape in the Snowy Mountains.

• Eucumbene Reservoir is the largest dam in the Scheme, holding about nine times the amount of water contained in Sydney Harbour and covering more than 14,500 hectares. It collects water from the Eucumbene, Upper Murrumbidgee and Snowy Rivers and its enormous capacity is central to the flexibility of the Scheme for generating electricity and providing irrigation water. The water intake tower shown in the clip regulates the flow of water into the Eucumbene River below the dam.

• The clip shows construction of the dam wall at Eucumbene Reservoir. As an earthfill dam, its outer walls are built of rock while the inner core is made of compacted clay, which prevents water seepage. The job of compacting the clay is shown being carried out by sheepsfoot rollers pulled by bulldozers. The clay was excavated from a nearby soil quarry and carted to the site in trucks and earthmovers. A scheme of this magnitude was only made possible through advances in heavy construction machinery.

• As illustrated, the old township of Adaminaby was flooded by the Eucumbene Reservoir. The creation of the dam resulted in thousands of hectares being flooded, including the original site of Adaminaby, a town established in the 1830s. During 1958, the Government relocated Adaminaby, moving more than 100 buildings by truck to the new site. Residents were compensated for the move but some experienced a profound sense of loss. The new Adaminaby has continued to suffer as a result of its physical and economic isolation.

• The Scheme was made possible by the involvement of immigrant workers, referred to at the time as 'new Australians’. In response to a skills shortage, the Government expanded its immigration program and the Snowy Mountain Hydro-electric Authority (SMA) recruited many workers from overseas. A labour force of more than 100,000 representing 32 nationalities worked on the Scheme over a 25-year period. Seventy per cent of these workers were either migrants or temporary residents.

• The clip refers to US involvement in the project. Construction of the Eucumbene Dam was overseen by US contractors Kaiser-Walsh-Perini-Raymond. The United States Bureau of Reclamation also assisted with design and construction of the Scheme and provided technical advisers. The US contractors established a reputation for efficient and sometimes punishing work practices. They cut workers’ breaks and introduced longer shifts, and as a result projects such as the Eucumbene Dam were finished ahead of schedule.

• Reference is made to the 'waste waters of the Snowy’, a view typical of the time. The environmental effects of the Scheme only became apparent once it was up and running. Some ecosystems have been drowned and others starved of water. In 2000, after an inquiry into the ecological effects of reduced water flow in the Snowy River, the Victorian and New South Wales governments agreed to periodically increase flows to assist with the rehabilitation of the river. In 2006 the Snowy River received less than 1 per cent of its natural water flow.

• The clip uses dramatic language and music to equate the Scheme with progress. Images that depict the vastness of the Scheme are juxtaposed with a narration that repeats the words 'men’, 'machinery’ and 'progress’ to emphasise how the environment has been shaped by humans. This is reinforced by music that swells to a climax as the narrator refers to the sacrifice made by Adaminaby residents to make way for progress. In casting drought as the 'enemy’, the clip evokes notions of wartime sacrifice.