Scribe's Report on Previous Meeting (5 April)

Welcome

Tania welcomed Roger Climpson and appeared intent on trying to get him fully membered;  John Norris joined in the exercise.

Announcements

Dick White leaving the club to move to Balina.  Joining Balina-Richmond(?) Rotary.  Back in early May for a farewell. [our loss will be their gain]

WATW reception in library from 6 to 7 pm this Thurs.

Jenny May back next week.

4th May will be a club assembly.

District assembly coming up on 16th April.

Brent has drainage tubes removed from his back and home on Wednesday. [Good luck Brent. Try just kicking goals for the moment and not ribs!]

Adrienne:  TVO put today with a good piece about the bowel cancer kit and they are available at Wades Pharmacy.  Come along and buy a kit and encourage others to get one.  In The Cove:  Inserted a blog about next weeks speaker re Downs Syndrome.

Margaret:  District committee for MUNA coming up in 14 and 15 May.  See Margaret for a ticket to this important and entertaining Rotary initiative.

Harry: Researched the McGrath Foundation for a friend. It ends up with only 69c in the dollar available for their breast cancer charity (31% goes on admin and promotion.)  In yet another salvo of blatant propaganda for the Rotary Foundation he reminded us that the Foundation spends only 7% on admin and promotion, and delivers 93% to the end beneficiary!  He pointed out that the McGrath Foundation is still a very good charity, with a very necessary role and methodology, but how good is "our" Foundation!

John Palmer:  About eight awardees nominated for the POW presentation so far, and shaping up well.

Sergeant Adrienne

Phil squared TFP and TOP.  Birthdays and anniversaries.

Travellers: Easter Island, Melbourne (John Donald).  Chris Curtis on Facebook.  Tom Roberts painting then held up for a good cause.

Bob muttered something and got fined.  Ron Tweedie was involved in this hazardous interruption of the Sergeant's discourse.  John Norris pinged for no tie.

Boasts:  Margaret attended an amazing academic award for Allison Schilling.  John Donald told of a good value Sydney/Melbourne six month train ticket.  $22 per week from Sydney to Melbourne [Sure beats driving and more comfortable journey than flying].  Boasted that daughter has moved into new home on Settlers Run.

X fine:  Lindsay revealed that Tania didn't book her steps up.  Too late to get bits in.  Bangkok on weekend to visit Andrew.  40 minute trip for $12.

John Norris fined sister for not printing out guest list but only kidding.  Near heart attack.  Dick Dawes' soliloquy: 10pm - Home alone - Dark in the kitchen - Bitten by a jam tart that was left in the oven too long and leapt out at him - Put finger in the boiling jam.  Let that be a lesson to all trainee cooks!

"Guest" Speaker

Margaret introduced our guest Speaker:  John Donald - Snowy River Scheme .....The Inside Story.

Rode into Town on a tournapull on holidays.  Later worked as a linesman on his first vacation job.  Assistant to Lothar.  Straight out of the Panzers. Gumboots and raincoat [no fancy turtleneck jumper and turquoise skiing tights for John]

It was essential to start and as a result there was no legislative permission for the project.  Conditions were poor.  Death rate high but low by world standards, only one death per mile.  Wouldn't work like that these days: 121 deaths officially but really over 200 when you count off-duty fatigue-ridden driving accidents.  Staff lived in Cooma Camp, workshops in Polo Flat.

Designed for peak electricity and switched on at peak hours of Sydney and Melbourne.

Theiss got a start and later built 25% of the snowy scheme.

John assigned to T2. Not much to do. Later became a line patrolmen. Kept up electricity supply to campers and contractors.

Pictures of bogged vehicles, gelignite blasting at Cabramurra.  Picture of migrant tradesmen and engineers. Ross MacKinnon and Walter Hartwig,

Initially flew in 5 days. Rest on ship. English class - woman teacher.  No women around.  Just a lot of ping pong!

Dodgy roads, trucks over the side, slushy conditions, unstable edges, unstoppable runaways. Huge units.

Adaminiby dam built on day labour.  Bill Hudson sacked the NSW public works dept and engaged American mob to do the job.  Willie the Whip.  Not very politically correct and cut out the niceties in order to get the job done.

Fascinating pictures - had to be there.  130 miles of tunnels.  Cliffs roads.  Hippos.  Atkinsons.  Dodges.  Tunnels only 20% concrete lined. Picture of massive dam to Tumut.

Total capacity 2.74 gigawatts (Bunnerong only 375 megawatts.)  Only 2.75% of scheme is above ground.  90 km aqueducts.   Job ran From '49 to '74.

First transistorised computer.  130000 people from many countries, 70% migrants.  Theiss, Kaiser, Utah, and US Bureau of Reclamation.  SMA became SM Hydro.

Installed capacity of peak loading of 3.7 gigs.  By comparison, Bayswater is 2,700 megawatts.  Liddelll 2,000.  Dams would paradoxically be opposed by today's environmentalists.

Questions

Tasmania down to 14'% water.  In SA a high % of wind and solar generators have broken down.  Tania thanked John for a fantastic talk.

Vote of Thanks

Ron:  Interested in snowy mountains scheme as an engineering student.  Neat and tidy now but the reality of remoteness, mud, wind, cold was amazing. Thanks. Very enjoyable.

Attendance

15 LC Rotarians, 2 visitors, and 2 visiting Rotarians.

Margaret:  Jenny back next week.  Nathan Basha guest speaker.  MUNA volunteers needed.  Meeting closed at 8.20 pm.