Episode 29 Teacher Resource 25th October 2016

Snowy Mountains Scheme

1. What was the main point of the BtN Students will investigate the Snowy Scheme story? Mountains Scheme in more detail. They will explore the impact migrant groups 2. Which list has the Snowy Mountains Scheme been added to? working on the scheme had on Australian 3. In which year did construction of the Snowy Mountains society. Scheme begin? 4. Briefly explain the scheme. 5. What were some concerns people had about the scheme? 6. How long did it take to complete?

7. Many of the people working on the scheme were ______. History – Year 5 8. Why did the workers come from Europe? The reasons people migrated to and the experiences and contributions of 9. What were the working and living conditions like? a particular migrant group within a 10. What impact did the scheme have on Australia? colony (ACHASSK109)

History – Year 6 The contribution of individuals and groups to the development of Australian society since Federation (ACHASSK137)

Stories of groups of people who migrated Class Discussion to Australia since Federation (including from ONE country of the Asia region) and Discuss the BtN Snowy Mountains Scheme story as a class. What reasons they migrated (ACHASSK136) questions were raised in the discussion (what are the gaps in their knowledge)? The following KWLH organiser provides students with a Geography – Year 7 framework to explore their knowledge on this topic and consider what The way that flows of water connect they would like to know and learn. places as they move through the environment and the way these affect places (ACHASSK183)

What do I What do I want What have I How will I find HASS – Years 5 & 6 know? to know? learnt? out? Develop appropriate questions to guide an inquiry about people, events, developments, places, systems and challenges (ACHASSI094) (ACHASSI122)

Locate and collect relevant information and data from primary Students will develop their own question/s for inquiry, collecting and sources and secondary sources recording information from a wide variety of sources (internet, books, (ACHASSI095) (ACHASSI123) newspaper and magazines).

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Students will investigate in more depth some questions they have about the Snowy Mountains Scheme and the people that worked on the project.

Define: What do I want to know?

Key questions to research Students can choose one or more of the following questions or come up with their own:  What is the Snowy Mountains Scheme?  Who was involved in the construction?  Why were migrants brought in to work on the scheme?  What were conditions like for the workers and their families?  What impact has the scheme had on Australia?

Locate: Where do I find the information? What resources will help answer my questions? (Internet, people, resource centre, organisations, print). Discuss with students what a reliable source is.

Select: What information is important for the investigation? Students may need support to sort through and select relevant information.

Organise: How do I make sense of the information? Students can organise their research by creating main headings from their questions. Write each heading on a separate piece of paper. Record the information found for each question.

Present: How do we let others know about this information? Students decide on the best way to present the information. Possibilities could include:  A `Did You Know’ Fact sheet  Create an Infographic  An oral history report  Design a poster  Create a photo story

Evaluate: What have we learnt? Students reflect on what they have learnt about the Snowy Mountains Scheme during their investigation. Students will reflect on their learning and respond to the following.  What I learned...  What I found surprising...

There are weblinks at the end of this activity to help students with their research. The following videos showing archival footage of the scheme may also be useful.

National Film and Sound Archive - Snowy Mountain Scheme ABC Splash – Archival vision of the Snowy Mountain Scheme

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The Workers and their Families

Students will investigate in more detail the people that worked on the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Begin by responding to the following questions:

 How many people worked on the scheme?  What percentage were migrants?  Which countries did the workers come from?  Why was work hard to find in Europe at the time?  What were working and living conditions like for workers and their families?  What impact did workers and their families have on Australian society?

Further Investigation: Research an interview with a migrant who worked on the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Describe his experiences, noting the positives and negatives.

Postcard writing Students will imagine what life was like for migrants working on the Snowy Mountains Scheme and write a postcard to a family member explaining their experiences (including what they are doing, the living conditions and how they feel). Students will use their research findings to support their writing. Include photographs, drawings and or maps to decorate the front of the postcard.

Students can download this Write a Postcard template to assist them with their design.

Journal writing Students will imagine they are a migrant worker on the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Write a journal describing what the working and living conditions were like.

 Explain why you moved from Europe to work on the Snowy Mountain Scheme. What is your job on the scheme?  How do things feel about living in a different country?  What are some of the challenges or dangers?  What are your daily activities?

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Visual Literacy

Below are photographs depicting events in the construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme. Ask students to look at then respond to the following questions:  What is happening in the image?  Where do you think it was taken?  How do you think they might be feeling?  What question/s would you like to ask the people in the image?  Create a caption for each image.

Source: (link to image) Source: National Archives of Australia (link to image)

Source: Migration Heritage Centre (link to image) Source: National Museum Australia (link to image)

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National Archives of Australia – 60 years of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme http://naa.gov.au/collection/snapshots/power/index.aspx

ABC Splash – Snowy Mountains Scheme http://splash.abc.net.au/home#!/media/102912/the-snowy-mountains-scheme-1949

Australia.gov – The Snowy Mountains Scheme http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/snowy-mountains-scheme

National Museum Australia – Snowy Scheme collection http://www.nma.gov.au/collections/highlights/snowy-scheme-collection

National Film and Sound Archive – Snowy Mountains Scheme http://dl.nfsa.gov.au/clip/droughtdefeat/

ABC News – Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme added to National Heritage List http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-14/snowy-hydro-electric-scheme-added-to-national-heritage- list/7930174

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