SNOWY - The Making of Modern Australia

by Brad Collis

From the wreckage of Europe in the aftermath of World War II a pancultural armada representing the displaced and stateless of a ravaged continent sailed to the bottom of the world in the hope of a second chance at life. In their mix were also the first of a new generation; young men learning that peace still remained elusive in the political, economic and social turmoil that prevailed. They all arrived in an English-speaking, mostly agricultural country, Australia, as both political and economic refugees. They arrived as foreigners, aliens, speaking more than 30 different languages. They had no resources, save their will to do whatever was necessary to achieve a better life. Over the next quarter of a century this melange of humanity built one of the engineering wonders of the modern world – the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme. They modernised a nation and its society, created as an irrigation by-product one of the world’s great food-producing regions, and showed that people, irrespective of nationality, culture or creed, can work together, play together, and achieve greatness together.

446 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 24, 2015

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating account from all angles of the amazing Snowy River Scheme. Flew through this book, which mentions a lot of my favourite places in the world. The stories of the construction itself and the political manoeuvrings are okay, but it's the stories of the men and women from Australia and indeed all over the world that makes this book so good. What a generation, the Snowy workers were.