Australian
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Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows a detailed overview of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme. It uses a map and a model of the Snowy Mountains region, with footage of the Scheme, to show how the Scheme was designed to divert water from rivers in the Snowy Mountains to seven power stations and then back into the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers for irrigation of the Murray–Darling Basin. It also shows the two main sections of the Scheme: the Snowy–Tumut and the Snowy–Murray developments, and lists the projects, including dams, tunnels and power stations that had been completed by 1969.

Educational value points

• The Snowy Mountains Scheme described in the clip was a major post-Second World War construction and engineering feat built between 1949 and 1974. The integrated water and hydro-electric power project consisted of 16 large dams, seven power stations and a pumping station. To divert water from the Snowy Mountains for use in power generation and irrigation, 145 km of tunnels and 80 km of aqueducts were constructed. The Scheme cost $820 million.

• The clip gives an indication of the complexity of the Scheme, which is ranked as one of the seven civil engineering wonders of the modern world. Water is collected and stored in reservoirs and then diverted through tunnels and pipelines to power stations further down the mountain, where it generates electricity by turning hydro-electric turbines. The water is then released into the Murray and Murrumbidgee Rivers for irrigation purposes. The Scheme spans an area of 5,124 sq km.

• The Snowy–Tumut development diverts water from the Eucumbene and Upper Murrumbidgee Rivers to the Tumut Pond Reservoir and then into the Tooma and Tumut Rivers. The waters then pass through a succession of power stations located in Tumut Gorge before being released via Blowering Dam back into the Tumut River and then into the Murrumbidgee River. This particular development generates electricity in the Tumut 1, Tumut 2, Tumut 3 and Blowering Power Stations and provides an average of 1,380 gigalitres of water annually for irrigation.

• The Snowy–Murray development diverts water from the Snowy River to Island Bend Reservoir and from there through a transmountain tunnel to Geehi Reservoir. From there, along with water from the Geehi River, the water passes through the Murray 1 and Murray 2 Power Stations, before its release via Khancoban Dam into Swampy Plain River, a tributary of the Murray. Water collected in the Guthega River Reservoir generates electricity in the Guthega Power Station. The Snowy–Murray development provides an average of 980 gigalitres of water annually.

• Lake Eucumbene, one of the Scheme’s reservoirs shown in the clip, covers more that 14,500 hectares and is the largest reservoir in the whole Scheme. 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 water for irrigation. The Scheme’s 16 reservoirs have a total storage capacity of 7,000 gigalitres, 13 times the volume of Sydney Harbour.

• The Scheme was Australia’s most important post-War construction project. It was a huge technological feat and, for people of the time, was symbolic of Australia’s emergence from nearly two decades of economic depression and war. Designed not only to supply power to a growing and increasingly energy-hungry population, the Scheme also allowed the expansion of industry and the rural sector.

• The documentary Snowy Hydro – Snowy 69, from which this excerpt comes, was made to promote the Scheme. The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority had initiated a concerted public relations campaign, including films such as this one, to explain the complexities of the Scheme and promote its benefits in response to some media opposition to the Scheme and public concern about its huge cost. This documentary is narrated by James Dibble, an authoritative voice and familiar newsreader for ABC television from 1956 to 1983.