Title: About - SnowyMountains
Headings: 
Our story
20,000 BC
1800s
1800s
1859
1949
1960s
1800s
1800s
One of the few regions that experiences four distinct seasons, the Snowy Mountains is worth exploring all year-round.

Content: Our story
As unique as it is unforgettable, the area’s natural wonders have been a home of spiritual connection for indigenous culture for tens of thousands of years, and the once province of European graziers in the mid-19th century. 20,000 BC
Aboriginal Occupation
The Snowy Mountains is the traditional home of two Aboriginal groups, the Walgal people and the Ngarigo people, and saw many others gather in the summer months for annual pilgrimages to the region. 1800s
early settlers
Australia’s high country became populated by European stockmen, graziers and landholders. Settlers soon realised the potential for alpine grazing, where stock were moved to alpine areas during summer and returned to the valleys in autumn. 1800s
EUROPEAN EXPLORERS
European exploration of the Australian Alps began in the early 1800s. Polish explorer Count Paul Edmund de Strzelecki is acknowledged for his extensive work in the Snowy Mountains region, culminating in his ascent of Mt Kosciuszko in 1840. 1859
KIANDRA GOLDRUSH
The discovery of gold at Kiandra turned the grazing country into a boom town virtually overnight. The goldrush lasted until early 1861 – attracting up to 10,000 at its height – after which miners moved on to other prospering fields. 1949
THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS SCHEME
Construction began on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme as a way to offset drought by diverting water from the Murray, Murrumbidgee, Snowy and Tumut Rivers. More than 100,000 people worked on the scheme (including migrants of more than 30 nationalities) which officially opened in 1972.