Dutch migration and the Snowy Mountains Scheme: work, community and nation building

The Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme occupies a central place in Australia’s postwar history. Conceived as a nation-building project, it reshaped Australia’s energy and water systems while simultaneously transforming the country’s demographic profile. Between the late 1940s and the 1970s, the Scheme attracted tens of thousands of workers, the majority of whom were migrants from Europe.

Among them were Dutch migrants who arrived in Australia during the large postwar migration wave of the 1950s. Although never organised as a distinct national contingent, Dutch workers formed a visible and active part of the Snowy workforce and the communities that developed around it. Their involvement illustrates how Dutch migration combined labour, social life and long-term settlement in Australia.