b'The Snowy Mountains Scheme There was great fanfare on 17 October 1949 for theOne of the biggest challenges the Allens team faced during official start of what is considered one of the largest andthe project was communicating with Kaiser in Cooma. With most ambitious engineering projects ever undertaken inlimited phone lines available, arranging phone calls to the Australia. The Snowy Mountains Scheme became a symbolclient was a time-consuming process.of optimism, reshaping Australia socially, economically and politically. Over 100,000 people worked on theDespite the challenges, Kaisers work ethic and the construction, many of them immigrants who came fromcommitment of the workforce saw construction progress at over thirty nations. Allen Allen & Hemsley worked behinda rapid rate. In June 1956 Kaiser took over construction of the the scenes. It took twenty-five years to complete theAdaminaby Dam (later called Eucumbene Dam), one of the sixteen dams, seven power stations, one pumping stationbiggest dams in Australia and among the largest earth- rockfill and 225 kilometres of tunnels, pipelines and aqueductsdams in the world. Many overseas contractors refused to that make up the hydroelectric and irrigation project. Itstender for the work, believing the four-year timeframe was construction transformed Australias critical infrastructureunachievable. Kaiser completed the project in under two years.and significantly shifted the countrys ethnic diversity.Seventy years on, Allens work with the project continues, In 1954 American group Kaiser-Walsh- Perini- Raymondassisting Snowy Hydro Ltd with Snowy 2.0, a multi-billion(Kaiser) was awarded the contract for construction of thedollar pumped hydro storage project. The project will increase 22.5km Eucumbene-Tumut tunnel and the Tumut Pondcapacity of the Snowy Scheme by almost 50 per cent to more dam. At a cost of 25,296,586, this was the largest contractthan 6,000 megawatts, enabling greater security and stability for any public undertaking in Australia at the time. Allenof electricity supply and paving the way for additional future Allen & Hemsley was Kaisers solicitors in Australia andinvestment in Australias renewable energy sector.played an important role in the project. Kaiser revolutionised engineering in Australia, consistently breaking tunnelling records and completing projects ahead of schedule.The Snowy Mountains plan is the greatest single project in our history. It is a plan for the whole nation, belonging to no one state nor to any group or section. Prime minister Ben Chifley, 22 May 1949138'