d V INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER HORIZONS VOL. 7 • NO. 1 THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS • Page 3 Closeup of instrument panel of new Farmall 400 tractor. Hand is on Hydra-Touch lever, which operates the most versatile hy­ draulic implement control system ever developed for world's farms. LL THAT'S PRODUCTIVELY NEW, today and to- degree of farm mechanization possible to be found anywhere. morrow" — such is International Harvester's Prior ro the advent of the Fatmall, farm tractors were not /• standard of manufacturing. And IH, early in adaptable to row-crop cultivation and had a relatively limited Z-M 1955, again made big news in the farm equip- use on many farms. Intetnational Harvester long was dissatisfied -*- -m- ment industry, with the introduction of the with this basic shortcoming of the tractor and undertook extensive new Farmall tractor line in the United States experimental wotk to expand the application of mechanical power and foreign markets. This debut marked the to all phases of agricultute. first instance in the history of the industry that any manufacturer The result was the design and mass production of the Farm- ever unveiled a complete and entitely new line of tractors, with all — the first all-purpose fatm tractor built to fulfill every farm matched implements, at the same time. need for power, including row-crop cultivation. The Fatmall Termed "the greatest line of farm tractors ever produced," tractor made possible the horseless farm, and a new agricultural the new Farmalls include the Cub, 100, 200, 300 and 400 series — era dawned over the world. five basic tractors with 16 model variations. Replacing the former Constantly improved throughout the years, the McCotmick Farmall Cub, Super A, Super C, Super H and Super M-TA, these Intetnational Fatmall tractot line has been fully developed and new tractots boast mote power and greater work capacities than expanded, and today the 1955 line, with its complete atray of their popular predecessors, and are the unchallenged leaders in matched, ditect-connected, "Fast-Hitch" implements, again has all-purpose farm power, versatility and economy. demonstrated that the IH symbol stands fot "all that's produc­ Since 1924, the Farmall tractor has been a familiar sight in all tively new" — both today and in the tomorrows to come. See corners of the globe and has represented the most advanced Pages 8-9 of this issue for details of the new Farmalls. • • * Largest of the new Farmalls, a 400 series tractor begins The farm is IH's extensive experimental station near test run on specially-constructed road at Hinsdale Farm. Chicago, Illinois. Tractor is pulling a tandem disc harrow. J**"''*' •if** Workmen meet and shake hands as the "breakthrough" point is reached on the 3!4-mile Guthega-Munyang tunnel. The Guthega Dam is supply­ ing 60,000 kilowatts of electricity. Australia's Monumental Development. THE SNOWY MOUNTAINS SCHEME HERE'S A STIRRING BALLAD in Australia — Paterson immortalized the story of a famous ride, is acknowl­ "The Man from Snowy River" —that tells edged as Australia's most popular ballad. The horseman of the the story of the country's pioneer horsemen story lies buried in the little churchyard at Corryong on the and its mountain wilderness. For generations, Upper Murray River and his steed has vanished in the mists of T Australians have proudly passed on the bal­ time, but their memories are kept alive year after year by young lad. In homes and around the camp fires of and old of the Down Under country. the nation — and on the widely-separated battlefields of the In Paterson's language, the pioneer of the ballad was "a two World Wars — the narrative has voiced the national pride stripling on a small and weedy beast," and he hailed "from of rugged people in a rugged land. Snowy River, up by Kosciusko's side, where the hills are twice Today, "The Man from Snowy River," in which "Banjo" as steep and twice as rough, and the horse's hooves strike fire- Map shows area of southeastern Australia s \ /^ ->"> \L \ AA where the gigantic Snowy Mountains project 1 \V A J/ U° is going forward. A total of 5,500 square miles is involved in the 25-year program. A A / u /AA f « I ^ ) a *W | SNOWY RIVER SNOWY MOUNTAINS t- • :• ; < I s'"h. Guthega Dam during construc­ tion period. Completed in De­ cember 1954, dam straddles swiftly - flowing Snowy River. light from the flint stones every stride, and the man who holds frigid atmosphere and remembered a particular stanza of the his own is good enough." Snowy Mountains ballad: "The Man from Snowy River" did indeed come from a picturesque and spectacular region — the wild mountainous And down by Kosciusko, where the pine clad ranges raise expanse of the sparsely-settled Australian Alps with its lofty Their torn and ragged battlements on high; peaks, roaring gorges, sparkling streams and herds of cattle Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars and sheep grazing below the snow line. Fairly blaze at midnight in the cold, frosty sky, Located in the southeastern corner of Australia, the forbid­ And where around the Overflow the reed beds sweep and sway ding ranges of the Alps form the highest land mass of the To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide . continent. They include the Snowy Mountains, which extend north to south for a distance of some 100 miles and rise to an The Snowy River rises on the slopes of Mt. Kosciusko and elevation of 7,305 feet at Kosciusko, the highest peak in runs for 320 miles to empty into the Tasman Sea. The surveyors Australia. and engineers found that the river received the largest shate of This summit was climbed in 1840 by Count Strzelecki, who the mountains' melting snows (the Snowy Mountains are named it after his Polish countryman and patriot, Thaddeus snow-capped for five to six months every year) and flowed Kosciusko. through an area of adequate rainfall to waste itself in the sea. Ranging with Mt. Kosciusko are other giants of the Snowy Mountains — Townsend (7,241 feet), The Perisher (6,720), Big Bogong (6,758), The Porcupines (6,320), Paddy Rush (6,300), Grey Mare (6,120), and New Chum (4,820). Downstream from Guthega Dam, International While these heights may not seem too significant when com­ TD-24 tractor moves earth on new route. pared with the world's highest, they stand out sharply in a continent mainly characterized by its flatness. Following Count Strzelecki, the Snowy Mountains saw a procession of stockmen seeking new pasture land, miners in quest of gold and parties of surveyors and engineers. Many of the latter groups visualized the vast benefits that would result when it would be possible to take the clear, torrential waters of the mountain rivers and streams across the ranges and bring them to the dry territory in the west. :f Perhaps, as these surveyors and engineers studied the tremendous engineering problems involved while working in the shadow of Mt. Kosciusko, they may have shivered in the £> mm The Munyang Power Station, below gigantic Guthega Dam, produces electricity for Sydney 1 area and is first of 17 stations completed. As early as the 1880's, proposals to utilize the waters of the Snowy Mountains were centered around water for irrigation. However, between 1915-18, the New South Wales Department of Public Works carried out surveys with the thought of using the Snowy River for the generation of electricity for Sydney and the southeastern region of the state. In the 1920's, other proposals were considered, including one for the supply of water to Sydney and some country towns. These proposals, plus later ones, stemmed from regional interests rather than the full utilization of the area's water resources for the nation as a whole. World War II then appeared and plans for the Snowy River were shelved for the time being. In 1946, effective action came for the first time when ministers of the Commonwealth, New South Wales and Victoria, with their technical advisers, met to discuss the future of the Snowy waters. * * * THUS, FOR THE FIRST TIME, the use of the river was approached from the national viewpoint, with full attention given to both power and irrigation aspects. Extensive engineer­ ing surveys were ordered. A report in June 1949 emphasized the great significance of the power and irrigation possibilities of the Snowy River and lifted the entire program to a level of major national importance. The next month, ministers of the Commonwealth, New South Wales and Victoria met in Canberra. The result of the meeting was the passage by the Commonwealth Parliament of the high country on the eastern side of the Snowy Mountains. the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Power Act, 1949, which The waters thus impounded will be diverted through long established the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority. tunnels under the main dividing range into the western rivers, With the signing of the bill creating the Authority, the the Murray, Murrumbidgee and Tumut. wheels were set in motion for the creation of the greatest en­ Through this method, farms in the fertile Murray and gineering development ever undertaken in Australia — a devel­ Murrumbidgee valleys will be supplied annually with sufficient opment that ranks as one of the major engineering projects of water to cover 1,500 square miles to a depth of one foot. It is the globe. estimated this added water will produce foodstuffs annually Involved is an area of 5,500 square miles, approximately worth 25 million Australian pounds. 300 miles from Sydney and 400 miles from Melbourne.