75th anniversary of Land Rover

Over Easter this year, the 75^th

Land Rover anniversary will be held in Cooma, NSW. Yes, Land Rovers have been in production for 75 years and the company has come a long way, but with various owners since it developed those early Series 1 offroad vehicles.

So why Cooma for the 75^th anniversary? It’s all connected to the Snowy Mountains Scheme, the pioneering hydroelectricity and irrigation project built between 1949 and 1974. When the Snowy Scheme was started, there were very few suitable vehicles available in Australia. Indeed, ex-army trucks were the stopgap. Consequently, when the first Land Rovers appeared in Australia, many of them were driven straight to the Snowy, where they were much needed and played a significant part in the Snowy story. From the few books I have read on the subject, Land Rover learned a great deal from this early experience of what would have been tough road conditions.

If you want to go along to the five-day event, which promises to be very special, then see https://landrover75thanniversary.com.au for more details.

The original Land Rover has, of course, evolved considerably since those times into a variety of models. Many a country’s army has had a fleet of Land Rovers on its books, and the latter generations of vehicles make a great tow vehicle. Like a few other makes today, some Land Rover models, like the Range Rover, never see a dirt road! I always fancied owning a ‘Toorak Tractor’, aka the Range Rover, but could never really afford one.

THE SNOWY

Even if you are not particularly interested in Land Rovers, the Snowy Scheme is well worth a look. Guthega, Jindabyne, Eucumbene, Adaminaby, Tumut, Talbingo, Cabramurra and Khancoban are all towns and places associated with the Snowy Scheme. Spending a week or more exploring the area would be easily done. Much of the Snowy Hydro infrastructure is within the boundaries of the Kosciuszko National Park. Just two per cent of the Snowy Hydro infrastructure can be seen above ground.

Undoubtedly, the Snowy Mountains Scheme was a significant project in Australian history. Looking back and given the differences between the various states, it’s incredible that it happened, especially in the tough times post WWII. Significant at the time was that engineering/construction skills and labour were very much in short supply. Migrants from more than 30 nations made up 65 per cent of the workforce which peaked at 100,000 people. That did cause a few problems. In the aftermath of WWII, bitter enemies found themselves working together on the same project in a new country. For the most part, there was a positive outcome that was countrywide. Many of the immigrant workers stayed on to live permanently in Australia.

Although there was a fledgling snow ski scene at places like Charlottes Pass and Kiandra before the Snowy Scheme started, there was little else. Some of those immigrants from mountainous European countries who spent their time surveying, water gauging and road building looked at places like Thredbo, Perisher Valley and Guthega. They thought they had some potential as ski resorts, as they did for us enthusiasts in subsequent years.

There were many other offshoot benefits. The Snowy Scheme pioneered the compulsory use of seat belts, something we take for granted today. During tunnelling construction, scientists and engineers refined the technique of rock bolting, where tension bolts were used to compress broken or jointed rock into a self-supporting arch structure. It saved on the expensive concrete lining previously required.

Although many construction tenders went to overseas companies, in 1958, Theiss Brothers became the first Australian company to win a contract. As part of that contract, Sir Leslie Theiss was the first to import Toyota Landcruisers into Australia and used them on the Snowy Scheme and subsequent mining and construction projects throughout Australia. Apparently, the Toyota engineers took a great deal of interest in how the vehicles were used and abused. An offshoot of this, of course, is that in the caravan industry, the Landcruiser has very much become the tow vehicle of choice in Australia.

An article like this barely skims the story of the Snowy Scheme but if you are interested, there’s an excellent book available. Written by Siobhán McHugh, The Snowy a History records the interviews of hundreds of former employees in an easily readable style. It’s a fascinating piece of Australian history that is still evolving today in the Snowy 2.0 project but that’s another story.