True Grit

As Smec Celebrates 70 Years Since Construction Began On The Iconic Snowy Mountains Scheme, Anz Ceo James Phillis Says His Team Is Still Inspired By The Pioneers Who Worked On The Engineering Marvel.

- Jodie Darlington

There was a buzz of excitement in the air in the small southern New South Wales town of Adaminaby on 17 October 1949. It was a bright, sunny day and the locals had gathered to watch Sir William McKell, the Governor-General of Australia, press the button to fire the first blast on the Snowy Mountains Scheme, marking the official opening of the project. At the time, Prime Minister Ben Chifley described the scheme as “the greatest single project in our history”. And he was not wrong. When the mammoth project was completed in 1974, it consisted of seven power stations, 16 major dams, 145 kilometres of interconnected tunnels, 80 kilometres of aqueducts and 2,000 kilometres of road.