Snowy Hydro Online Event
Thursday 10 April 2025, 3:00pm AEST (see below for all Capital City & Antarctic times)
Speaker: Jonny Carroll, a Civil, Structural Engineer and Project Manager at Snowy Hydro
An ANARE Club Online Free Event !!!
A National Event hosted by the ANARE Club NSW Branch
The Speaker
Jonathon Carroll is a Civil, Structural Engineer and Project Manager who works in the Snowy Hydro Engineering team, based in Cooma working on Snowy 2.0 for 5½ years. Previously he worked with SMEC International in SE Asia and the Pacific.
Jonathon will present the background to Snowy 2.0, the current status, and talk through the challenges of delivering a mega project in a remote location.
Jonathon is passionate about the role of Snowy 2.0 in transitioning Australias Energy grid to a renewable based grid that doesn’t compromise on reliability. He is keenly aware of the history of both the original Snowy scheme and the work that SMEC has done overseas to export the knowledge gained during the development of the scheme.
He is also keen on knowing more about ANARE and it’s connection to the scheme. Jonathon is an Irishman who counts Tom Crean as personal hero and is very much looking forward to presenting to the group and discussing our shared passions.
Snowy Hydro – History
The Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme is a part of our nation’s history and a leading example of Australian innovation and ingenuity. In 1944 that Commonwealth and State governments formed a committee to examine the development of water resources in the Snowy Mountains area. On 7 July 1949, the Commonwealth Parliament passed legislation to establish a Statutory Authority and start construction of the Snowy Scheme.
On 17 October 1949, Governor-General Sir William McKell, Prime Minister Ben Chifley and Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority Commissioner William Hudson fired the first blast at Adaminaby, NSW. Construction was completed in 1974. On completion, the Scheme consisted of seven power stations, 16 major dams, 80 kilometres of aqueducts and 145 kilometres of interconnected tunnels. Over the course of construction, more than 100,000 people from more than 30 countries worked on the Scheme. Many had escaped post-war Europe to begin a new life in a new land.
Workers lived in regional townships and more than 100 temporary camps. Life could be harsh, especially during the early years, when hundreds of people spent freezing winters in canvas tents, with only basic amenities and provisions. When construction was completed, workers dispersed across Australia.
The Scheme drove a wave of engineering innovation. For example, it introduced the development of ‘rockbolting’ – a safer and cheaper alternative to concrete lining for supporting rock in tunnel walls. In 1960, ‘Snocom’ was Australia’s first transistorised computer and one of the first dozen or so computers in the world. It helped ensure the Scheme was completed on-time and within budget, by completing engineering and design calculations.
In May 2017, Snowy 2.0 was announced. The project links two existing dams through a 27km underground tunnel and a new, underground pumped-hydro power station. In March 2018, the Australian Government reached agreement with the NSW and Victorian Governments to take full ownership of Snowy Hydro Limited.
