Australia's Snowy Mountains Scheme placed on heritage register

Australia's Snowy Mountains hydro-electric Scheme is a shining beacon of what can be achieved when nations welcome displaced migrants rather than retreating into isolationism.

Built by over 100,000 workers from 30 different countries, the 225 kilometres of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts of one of the world's most complex integrated water and hydroelectric power schemes was officially placed on Australia's Heritage Register on Friday.

"The Snowy Mountains Scheme is an audacious and brilliant example of modern Australia," Australian Environment and Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg said.

"A bold idea brought to life by the hard work of thousands of people coming to Australia from all over the world."

The scheme has become a symbol of multicultural Australia where workers and their families, 70 percent of which were displaced from World War II, lived in towns and camps across the Snowy Mountains in south western New South Wales state, Frydenberg said.

Constructed over 25 years between 1949 and 1974, the 16 dams, seven power stations and pumping station provide over 30 percent of renewable electricity to Eastern Australia's grid while diverting water for key agriculture production.

The civil engineering marvel of the modern world becomes the 107th addition to the heritage register, which includes Australia's iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House, world famous Bondi Beach, Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory and the Great Barrier Reef. Endit