The Snowy: A History, New Edition

by Siobhán McHugh

The Snowy: A History tells the extraordinary story of the mostly migrant workforce who built one of the world’s engineering marvels.

The Snowy Scheme was an extraordinary engineering feat carried out over twenty-five years from 1949 to 1974 – one that drove rivers through tunnels built through the Australian Alps, irrigated the dry inland and generated energy for the densely populated east coast. It was also a site of post-war social engineering that helped create a diverse multicultural nation.

Siobhán McHugh’sThe Snowy reveals the human stories of migrant workers, high country locals, politicians and engineers. It also examines the difficult and dangerous aspects of such a major construction in which 121 men lost their lives. Rich and evocative, this prize-winning account of the remarkable Snowy Scheme is available again for the 70th anniversary of this epic nation-building project.

'This classic work is the last word on the extraordinary human, industrial, ethnic and social event of the Snowy River Scheme. The tales of the men and women involved were more diverse than for any other Australian phenomenon, and Siobhan McHugh conveys the varied tales of humans spread by it all over the Snowy Mountain region with a humane historian eye. If you want to have a passing knowledge of the making of modern Australia, you should read this tale of an era when Australia dared to have a vision.' — Thomas Keneally

Genres: Nonfiction, History

385 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2019

Reviews

[Kieran McNulty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 12/12 2023

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Easter, almost without fail for my entire life, I camp with my family downstream of the Island Bend Dam near Guthega in the Snowy Mountains, and it's a place very close to my heart.

Quite literally, none of the roads, nor the camp sites or fishing spots or bushwalking trails up to the high country huts, would exist were it not for the remarkable engineering feat that the Snowy River Scheme was, and it's fascinatingly detailed in 'The Snowy'. People and places and events that I've heard of in passing or had vague knowledge of are brought to life. Really enjoyed this.

[Denita · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent historical account of the Snowy River Scheme. I particularly enjoyed reading the personal accounts of the men and women who worked on the scheme as well as their families. After reading this it makes me realize what a tremendous feat this whole scheme was.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great Aussie achievement story. Highly detailed, in fact in places it interferes with the narrative, but overall it is a highly entertaining and worthwhile read. However, on the other hand it makes it extremely suitable for use as an education tool by future Australian history students. As well as the obvious benefits of the scheme in terms of hydro-power generation and increased food production from increased irrigation, the Snowy scheme also established the foundations for the multicultural Australia to come and showed that citizens of nations that had so recently been at war, could get on with each other. I loved the story of the German who applied for membership of the Cooma RSL and when he had to complete information about his wartime unit, put Afrika Corps. The book does not say if he was admitted. "The Snowy" is a great read and a superb job of research and writing by the author Siobhan McHugh.

[Andrew Bysterveldt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knew there was a Snowy Hydro Scheme but I didn’t know anything about it. This book describes the scheme with a focus on the human stories. Stories about how the scheme got off the ground, the people who worked it, the wives and children who lived it and everyone else associated with it. The book flows so beautifully that it’s an easy read.

[Patrick Dunstan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Engaging and heartwarming - a story of humanity. The Snowy had such a major role in the creation of Australia’s modern, multicultural identity, and this book does it justice. Siobhan weaves hundreds of stories together into a concise narrative, to show how an extraordinary feat of engineering changed this country forever.

[Bearly Reading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into the history of Australia's most ambitious construction project. I particularly recommend this book to anyone who's interested in the history of the snowy mountains area. The book covers all aspects of the construction, from technical details to personal accounts of day to day hardship in the tunnels.

[Moyra Mendham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an awesome tale to read, especially when my dad was part of it in 1963. Thank you so much for enabling me to better understand what the project was about as I was only a child when Dad worked on the project. He would have loved to read this story.

[Anthony Garvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good top level overview of the scheme but I was hoping to learn more about the actual building of the project. Not the technical info but more a chronology of where / how it was built.
Nevertheless some great stories and info in there

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book kept me interested and I learnt so much about the Snowy and what impact it and the workers who built it have had on Australia. I thoroughly enjoyed this!!

[Diccon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read.
A touching and warming story about one of the largest post war engineering projects in the world and those upended their lives to make it happen.