Feature: The Snowy Mountains Scheme
Australia is the world's driest inhabited continent. Finding adequate supplies of water has always assumed a great priority.
In October, 1949, the greatest engineering project ever undertaken in Australia was commenced. Today, fifty years after the first blast signifying the beginning of construction, the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme's 16 major dams, 7 power stations, pumping station, 145 kilometres of interconnected tunnels and 80 kilometres of aqueducts intertwine to form a system which expands over an area of 8,200 square kilometers (about the size of Switzerland). The scheme's engineering features however, cover only 2% of this landscape.
As well as producing clean, renewable energy for New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Victoria, the Scheme redirects the flow of water west to the Murray and Murrumbidgee River systems where it is used extensively for the irrigation of crops and pastures.
The scheme's operations begin with the melting of winter snow which is collected and stored in the dams. The water is then diverted through huge trans-mountain tunnels where, along the way, it is used to generate clean, renewable energy. In some sections, the same water passes through four separate power stations on its westward passage. The water is then released into the Murray and Murrumbidge Rivers for irrigation and river management before travelling to the ocean and evaporating to start the whole process over again.
Hydro-electricity has several advantages over electricity generated through conventional thermal power stations. Water is a naturally renewable resource. Generation of hydro-electricity does not pollute - the scheme displaces more than 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions which would otherwise be produced by conventional power stations every year.
The Snowy's generators can provide energy to the national electricity grid within just 3 minutes, catering to the power needs of the large urban areas of Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Adelaide, and the hundreds of rural communities in the region.
This 2 coin set was released by the Royal Australian Mint to acknowledge the social contribution of the Scheme - the amalgamation of over 100,000 workers from more than 30 countries. The Tunnel in Construction and Alpine Lake designs represented on the two coins are a tribute to their efforts, a contribution which has resulted in the creation and continuing operation of this modern engineering wonder.
Sources:
Mint Issue No. 33, Royal Australian Mint, August, 1999.
Certificate and presentation material accompanying the Coins of the Snowy Maountains Scheme Pair.
