The
Snowy River is a major river in south-eastern
Australia. The Snowy River drains
the eastern slopes of the Snowy Mountains
in New South Wales. The main branch
rises on the slopes of Mount Kosciuszko,
Australia's highest peak. The main
headwaters, the Snowy, the Eucumbene
River and the Thredbo River (formerly
known as the Crackenback River) meet
near Jindabyne and wind southwards
through inaccessible country, including
the Snowy River National Park, eventually
reaching the sea at Marlo, near Orbost,
Victoria. In New South Wales, the
river runs through the Snowy River
Shire. The Snowy River originally
had a huge flow from the spring snow-melt
which flowed directly into the sea.
In the 1950s, as part of the Snowy
Mountains Scheme, a network of dams
was built to collect and divert most
of the water of the Snowy through
the mountains, to provide more water
to the Murray River and Murrumbidgee
River for irrigation and to generate
electricity.
During
the 1990s the low level of water in
the Snowy River was a major environmental
concern in Victoria, with a political
campaign to increase the water from
one per cent to 28 per cent of its
original flow from the dam at Jindabyne.
An independent candidate from the
Orbost district, Craig Ingram, was
elected to the Victorian Legislative
Assembly in 1999, and re-elected in
2002, on a platform to increase the
flow of water in the Snowy River.
The rugged beauty of the Snowy River
was immortalised in the 'Banjo' Paterson
poem The Man from Snowy River, first
published in 1890. The Snowy River
has also been immortalised in The
Man From Snowy River (films), The
Man From Snowy River (TV series) and
The Man From Snowy River: Arena Spectacular,
all of which were based on the Banjo
Paterson's poem.
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