On 17 October 1949 Governor-General William McKell pressed the button to set off the first blast of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. When it was completed in 1974, seven power stations, 16 dams and 225 kilometres of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts had been constructed. It took 100,000 people to build the Snowy, over 60,000 were migrants.
Power for the People marks the 60th anniversary of this remarkable engineering feat. Drawing on the National Archives collection, including photographs, plans and documents, this exhibit explores the social and scientific aspects of one of the largest and most complex hydro-electric schemes in the world.
See a selection of images on our Flickr site.
See also the Snowy Scheme Association's 60th anniversary reunion.