1. A Promotional Feature
One hundred years ago,
an incredible story began.
It’s a story that energised Tasmania, and its
legacy is the state’s hydropower scheme that
powers our homes and businesses today.
It’s a story that involved ambition, hardship
and innovation – and it’s the story of the
people who made it happen.
CELEBRATE
100YEARS
OF FUTURE
THINKING
hydro100.com.au

3. 3
100 years of future thinking
The Gordon Dam is 192 metres long and 140 metres high making it the tallest dam in Tasmania.
O
NE hundred years ago, one
of the boldest feats of
engineering ever envisaged
was conceived in one of the most
remote corners of the world.
Tasmania’s hydro-electric power
scheme was carved out of the
state’s harsh interior, by ordinary
people working in extraordinary
conditions.
Construction work in the early
years was difficult and dangerous,
requiring great resilience,
innovation and pioneering spirit.
Thousands of people, many
displaced by hard economic times,
war and strife, came from all over
the world – not only to help build a
mighty power scheme but to make
Tasmania their home.
Since 1914, Tasmania’s
electricity generator has operated
under different names, the
changes reflecting its growth and
governance.
Tasmanians, however, have
remained true to one name – ‘the
Hydro’ or simply ‘Hydro’.
Where it all began
The Hydro began with a big
dream in the early 1900s – to bring
electricity to every Tasmanian
farm, business and home. It was
an Australian first. No other state
or territory at the time had a
public, statewide energy
generating enterprise.
Generation started at
Waddamana Power Station in 1916,
and since that time the Hydro has
been one of Australia’s largest
producers of renewable energy.
Within 20 years, electricity had
largely replaced kerosene lamps,
candles and steam engines.
The Hydro spent eight decades
creating Tasmania’s electricity
system – 30 hydropower stations
and 55 major dams. It was a key
force in the state’s economic
development from the Depression
until the early 1980s, with public
opinion strongly in favour of
development.
As Australian attitudes to the
environment began to shift in the
late 1960s-early 1970s the Hydro
had to change too.
A campaign of protest against
the Gordon-below-Franklin power
scheme went all the way to the
High Court.
It changed the way the world
looked at wild places and was part
of the birth of the Green movement
in Australia and Europe.
Hydro Tasmania underwent
significant reinvention in the
1990s, making a commitment to
environmental planning,
revegetation and site restoration.
The technical expertise of its
people was directed to
international consulting.
Hydro’s foundation as a
provider of clean energy
continued, expanding into wind
farms and it began exporting
Tasmania’s clean energy into the
National Electricity Market via
the Basslink undersea cable to
Victoria.
Part of the
community
Over one hundred years of
innovation, the Hydro created
employment, with more than 5200
direct jobs at its construction peak
and employing about 30,000 people
over the past century.
Through the electricity it
generated, the state’s
manufacturing and agriculture
industries flourished.
Hydro’s work saw roads built
where there had been none and
villages grow in the wilderness.
The migrants it recruited
shaped Tasmania’s culture, from
the coffee we drink and the use of
garlic, olive oil and other new food
to our music, art and community
celebrations.
Its engineering and
technological breakthroughs
changed the way the world
approaches the challenge of
generating energy – and still do.
RBD Electrical & Instrumentation are an electrical
contracting company operating statewide that
has offices in Devonport and Hobart. RBD have
a long association with Hydro Tasmania carrying
out a number of major projects statewide.
RBD congratulate Hydro Tasmania on 100 years
of supplying reliable power to the communities
and businesses of Tasmania and into the National
Grid of Australia.
www.rbdelectrical.com.au • RBD Contracting Services P/L trading as RBD Electrical & Instrumentation
Work RBD Electrical & Instrumentation
performs and is experienced in includes;
• Specialising in large industrial & commercial
installations
• Extra High & High Voltage installation &
maintenance.
• Low Voltage & Extra Low Voltage installations &
maintenance including;
• Secondary wiring systems integration in power &
industrial plants.
• AC & DC Drive control.
• PLC installation, fault finding & programming.
• Instrumentation installation & calibration.
• Fibre Optic terminations & testing.
• Hazardous Area installation & assessment.
The photo is of the King Island Power
Station Energy Storage System Installation
The project involved installing and aligning 1440 battery
cells producing a 3MW - 1.6MWh output. Because of the
remote location and shipping costs the logistics of the
planning for this project were quite complex.
TA1450555

4. 4
33 Wenvoe Street, Devonport
Telephone: 6424 6699
Email: info@prectool.com.au
www.isgaus.com.au
Congratulations to
Hydro for your 100 Years
of Service to Tasmania
SUPPLIERS OF
• MACHINERY • POWER TOOLS • AIR COMPRESSORS
• LATHES • CUTTING TOOLS • HAND TOOLS
• ABRASIVES • WELDING & SAFETY EQUIPMENT
TA1450549
A promo!onal feature
‘Best time of my life’
Do you know these people? We’ve been able to identify several people from this Sunday school class at Tarraleah, but we’re keen to identify
more. If you know anyone in the photo please email centenary@hydro.com.au.
L
IVING in a tent for three
years in Tasmania’s Central
Highlands isn’t everyone’s
idea of fun, but to Ray Fogarty, the
memories are the best of his life.
Many of these memories were
rediscovered when Mr Fogarty’s
daughter, Raylene Otley, showed
him a picture and article that ran
in The Examiner on March 27 this
year.
The headline was, ‘‘Children of
Hydro workers sought for
celebrations’’ and was taken
during the 1930s.
The image showed the children
of Tarraleah Hydro workers
decked out in their Sunday best
ready for Sunday school with two
of their teachers.
Two of the children pictured
were Ray and his brother Tim,
aged about 7 and 9.
In 1933, Ray and Tim’s father,
Gordon Fogarty, got a job as a
carpenter for the Hydro-Electric
Commission and relocated his
wife Olive and three sons to
Tarraleah.
They were the third family to
take up residence in the wild
terrain.
‘‘We had three tents together,
one for mum and dad’s bedroom,
one for a kitchen and then one
where we, the kids were,’’ Mr
Fogarty reminisced.
‘‘We were in [the tents] for, I
would say, two or three years.
‘‘It was beautiful, the best time
of my life.’’
Life could not have been easy
for the Tarraleah families during
these early years.
Mr Fogarty explained that the
families had no power, water had
to be collected and carried from a
spring and he and his brother
spent a lot of time after school
collecting fire wood.
Baths were conducted inside
tents in an old tin bath that had to
be filled with boiling water off the
camp fire.
A supply bus would arrive at
camp once a week carting
supplies and basic foods, such as
bread, were made from scratch.
Despite what would be
considered hard times by today’s
standards, Mr Fogarty gets a
gleam in his eyes when he revisits
his childhood memories.
‘‘At school I always came
second, in everything, ’’ Mr
Fogarty said with a cheeky grin.
‘‘There was only two of us in my
grade,’’ he said with a laugh.
After three or four years the
Fogarty family was moved to
Butlers Gorge and into a house.
‘‘It had a bathroom and all,’’ Mr
Fogarty said.
‘‘I thought it was a palace.’’
Mr Fogarty’s father, Gordon,
worked with the Hydro all his life
and Ray’s older brother, Tim,
followed in his old man’s footsteps
but Ray left Tarraleah at 18,
hoping to join the army.
‘‘I came to Hobart and they
didn’t pass me medically, and I
never went back,’’ he said.
‘‘I also became a carpenter
though.’’
Ray still kept in touch with the
friends he made at Tarraleah,
regularly meeting up with some
of them at the Pontville pub until
a few years ago.
‘‘The people that you lived with,
they were genuine people and a
real good community,’’ Mr
Fogarty said.
‘‘Everyone knew each other and
helped out, nothing like it is these
days.’’
Hydro’s
illustrator
also marks
centenary
AS HYDRO Tasmania celebrates
its 100th birthday, the artist
behind many of company’s icon-
ic illustrations has also reached a
century.
Born in 1914, Max Angus is the
artist behind many of the ar-
tworks that depict Hydro Tas-
mania’s various power schemes
and explain, in layman’s terms,
how they work.
‘‘My job was to illustrate the
production of power in the most
powerful way that I could . . . in
a way that the ordinary person
could understand,’’ Angus said.
Hydro Tasmania’s centenary
program manager Lara van den
Berg said many of these artworks
were still used today.
‘‘Some of these have been
adapted to reflect the current
operations of our business, and
are still used today in publica-
tions that explain how renew-
able energy is created from
water in Tasmania,’’ she said.
‘‘We are also pleased that an
original artwork remains on dis-
play at Tarraleah, a large mural
that was commissioned to mark
the 50th anniversary of the Hy-
dro.’’
Hydro Tasmania is
really one big
family with many
connections.
One of these is
the fact that Ray
Fogarty actually
built Max Angus’
house.

5. 5
‘Mild’ snow the attraction
Stanislaw Grabek arrived in Tasmania to work for the HEC in 1948. He is pictured far right looking at the camera.Adam Grabek is a second-generation Hydro worker.
There has been a Grabek at the Hydro for more than 60 years
By JAYNE RICHARDSON
S
OME families pass down
recipes or secrets, but the
Grabeks’ family history is
much more electric.
In 1948, Polish migrant Stanislaw
(Stan) Grabek arrived in
Tasmania to begin work with the
Hydro-Electric Commission.
He had planned on going to New
South Wales to work on the
railway, but a very convincing
engineer from the HEC changed
his mind, explaining that the
Tasmanian climate was ‘‘mild’’
and ‘‘not as hot as NSW’’.
He told his son many years later
that the foot of snow he arrived to
at Bronte Park was a lot milder
than he had envisioned.
Despite the cold, Stan built a life
for himself in Tasmania and
developed a loyalty to the Hydro,
something he later passed on to his
son.
Stan’s career with the Hydro
began humbly, digging holes for
power poles.
But with an electrical trade
certificate, earned during his time
in the Polish Army, he soon
progressed to electrician.
Stan spent 33 years working at
the HEC before retiring in 1981,
one year after his son Adam
started working for the company.
The ’80s were an exciting time at
the Hydro, with the construction
of dams still going strong at
several sites across the state.
Adam started out with the
company as a trainee technical
officer with the protection and test
division of the electrical branch.
It was in this role that Adam
became involved with the
installation of a third generator at
the Gordon Power Station at
Hydro Tasmania’s largest dam –
and so a massive and complicated
undertaking.
‘‘This experience helped me
decide what area of electrical
engineering interested me the
most and the career choices I
should make,’’ Adam said.
‘‘The people I met during that
project made me appreciate the
skills and dedication required to
successfully complete such a
project.’’
Adam then went on to work for
the estimating and planning
department and was involved in
the commissioning of the John
Butters and Tribute power
stations, the last two to go online
before the end of the Hydro’s dam-
construction era.
‘‘As the dam-construction era
came to a close, the organisational
structure changed and years of
stable operation was now replaced
with constant adjustments to
adapt to the new reality of
becoming a power producer in a
competitive market,’’ Adam said.
‘‘The way forward was not
always clear, management
decisions were questioned and
people were concerned about their
future.
‘‘On reflection, the decisions
made showed that the gradual
change was needed from being an
inward-looking organisation, to
one with opportunities to work
with other companies nationally
and internationally through
Hydro Consulting and then
Entura.’’
Adam is still employed at Hydro
Tasmania and said he is looking
forward to seeing what the future
holds for Hydro Tasmania and his
role with the company.
We are proud to be AssociatedWe are proud to be Associated
with Hydro Tasmaniawith Hydro Tasmania
TA1452828
• Labour Hire

6. 6
A promo!onal feature
The engineer’s daughter
The Ramsey family in 1958.
By CHRISTINE RICHARDSON
MY FATHER was Jim Ramsey,
civil maintenance engineer at
Tarraleah from 1958 until 1968.
Based on actual events, I’ve
written this piece as a tribute to
him.
S
HE sat looking at the dam, its
grey-black arms outstretched,
holding back the
unharnessed power hidden within
the highland lake.
In her hand she held a book.
She opened its pages and read
the words written by another, a
stranger to her world, to describe
this place, her father’s place.
They had said it was ugly; an
unnatural man-made abomination
in this pristine wilderness; a place
built with the tears of men from
other countries.
How could they be so wrong?
She got out of her car and
walked over to the dam wall.
She touched its roughness and
felt its strength.
She walked to the edge of the
lake.
The sun shimmered and
skittered across its blue mirror,
reflecting the rugged snow-capped
mountains that surrounded it.
This dam, beautiful and strong,
was something to be proud of,
something to be respected,
something to be loved, something
to be feared.
It was her father.
He had put his soul into this dam
and when she hugged the walls of
it, she hugged all that was left of
him.
Fifty years had passed since
Chrissy Ramsey had skipped
happily across the top of the newly
constructed dam wall behind her
father’s ripple-sole shoes.
‘‘You stay behind me, Chrissy,’’
he had said.
It was an instruction from Jim
Ramsey and therefore needed to be
obeyed.
You ignored Jim Ramsey’s
instructions at your own peril, so
on this day Chrissy knew to do as
she was told.
She walked carefully behind
him as he led her onto the dam.
Her father stopped and he and
the other men had looked into the
lake.
The water was lapping at the top
of the dam just a few inches below
their feet.
‘‘We’re going to need to open the
floodgates,’’ one of the men had
said.
‘‘I’ll do it.’’
‘‘No! Let Chrissy do it,’’ her
father had said.
The men had looked at each
other but Jim Ramsey was the
boss, he was the engineer and you
did as he said.
A rush of excitement went
through her small body.
She had seen flood gates opened
before and watched the water
cascade through the dam wall.
Now she was in charge of this
serious, powerful event.
Her father’s hands over hers, she
turned the great wheel that
relieved the pressure on Clark
Dam.
‘‘Look, Chrissy,’’ he had said,
‘‘Look what you’ve just done.’’
She leaned over the wall and
watched as an immense,
sparkling, cascade gushed down
into the valley below.
She laughed and clapped her
hands and all of the men around
her smiled and shared her joy.
She was the luckiest girl in the
world.
She was the engineer’s daughter.
To read more stories like this one, go to
www.hydro100.com.au.
How are
customers
finding you
online?
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jayne.harwood@fairfaxmedia.com.au or contact your dedicated media sales consultant
www.fairfaxmarketingservices.com.au
TA1461558
6336 7265Contact Jayne Harwood today
For a no obligation FREE digital health check

7. 7
CONGRATULATIONS TO HYDRO TASMANIA ON
REACHING YOUR CENTENARY MILESTONE!
WE LOOK FORWARD TO POWERING INTO THE FUTURE WITH YOU!
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Image courtesy of Hydro Tasmania
TA1452957
Recollections from an early Hydro camp
Gunner Robertson at number 9 camp.
Workers from the sawmill between Butlers Gorge and Tarraleah.
THIS is an extract from
W. Robertson’s story for the Hydro
centenary celebrations and his
personal account of life as a Hydro
worker.
MY FATHER worked on the first
canal between Butler’s and
Tarraleah just after the
depression of 1929.
He told me when you went into the
canal excavation at start-time in the
morning, you tried to position
yourself away from where the
overseer walked in.
This was because, from start to
knock-off time each day, the banks of
the canal were lined with men
hopeful of getting a job.
The overseer would walk down the
line, and irrespective of your working
ability, would point to perhaps the
first half-dozen men and say: ‘‘You
out’’, and to the same number on the
bank: ‘‘You in’’.
This was to try to rotate the few
jobs, so everyone could earn some
money to feed their families.
The pay was about three pounds a
week and when a man ‘‘signed on’’ he
was given a pick, a shovel, a crowbar
and a spalling hammer for breaking
the stone down to manageable size.
These tools were in his keeping and
if he lost them, his pay packet
suffered accordingly.
There were no gumboots.
Each man pulled his trouser legs up
to approximately ankle height and
tied them below the knee with a piece
of string or a leather boot lace.
These were referred to as
‘‘bowyangs’’ and this practice was to
prevent the weight of the mud on the
cuffs from dragging the trousers
down under the boot heels, thus
making walking difficult.
I experienced these conditions first-
hand in the middle of the 1940s, with
some things bringing back my
father’s words.
When the bus arrived at the village,
there were two or three inches of
snow on the ground and it was still
snowing.
Some of the bus occupants went
immediately to get a return ticket to
Hobart, while the rest of us, about
half a dozen men and boys, were
escorted to the office by a camp
orderly.
We signed on as labourers and I, for
one, had no idea what my work would
be.
I was nearly 18 years old, and there
were a couple of other boys a year
younger than me.
We were taken to a plain vertical-
board hut.
Inside was a heap of straw and a
pile of chaff bags. It was like the
interior of a stable without the horse.
We were told that we could fill up
two bags of straw for our bed
mattresses.
My sister, Alice, had packed several
blankets for me in my case, and
wasn’t I grateful for her kindness that
first night!
I almost froze when the wood ran
out.
I tried to convince myself I was a
sane person who left a warm house
and comfortable bed in Hobart to go
‘‘bush’’.
I wondered, too, what tomorrow
would bring in this hostile
environment that was so foreign to
the way I had been brought up.
To read more of this story go to
www.hydro100.com.au.

8. 8
• Construc
• The Red H
diversion
• Restoratio
• Basslink C
776 Whitemore Road,Whitemore TAS 7303
Phone: 6397 0222
Email:info@shawcontracting.com.au
Website: www.shawcontracting.com.au
Shaw Contracting (Aust) Pty Ltd
Sha
wor
1910
Hydro Electric Power and
Metallurgical Co Ltd begins work
to divert water from Great Lake
and Shannon River into the valley
of the Ouse River.
1914
State Government purchases
the company and Hydro-Electric
Department is established on
October 23, 1914.
1916
Waddamana ‘A’ Power Station
starts generating electricity.
1918
Works start on the state-of-the-art
multiple arch concrete dam at
Miena, the second longest of its
type in the world.
1930
Hydro-Electric Commission (HEC)
is created after the Hydro-Electric
Commission Act 1929 comes into
force.
1931
Shannon Power Station starts
generating electricity.
1934
Harnessing the waters of the River
Derwent begins with the start of
construction on the Tarraleah
Power Scheme.
1938
First three generators at Tarraleah
Power Station are turned on, with
a system capacity of more than
10MW.
1939
Construction of Waddamana ‘B’
Power Station begins.
1950
Construction starts on Trevallyn
Power Development.
1951
Clark Dam completed and
Butlers Gorge Power Station is
commissioned.
1955
Trevallyn Power Station is
switched on and Duck Reach
Power Station is decommissioned.
Tungatinah Power Station is
commissioned.
1956
Lake Echo Power Station is
commissioned.
1957
Wayatinah Power Station is
switched on; the number of energy
consumers in Tasmania passes
100,000.
1959
Water from Great Lake is
redirected via a 6 km tunnel to a
new underground power station at
Poatina.
1921
Water starts flowing in Liawenee
Canal.
1923
Ninth turbine commissioned at
Waddamana ‘A’ Power Station
with completion of the multiple
arch dam at Miena.
1924
Construction of the Shannon
Power Scheme using the
drop between Great Lake and
Penstock Lagoon.
1944
HEC acquires the electrical
undertakings of Duck Reach
Power Station from the
Launceston City Council.
1947
Post Second World War migrants
from countries such as Poland
and Britain bolster the HEC
workforce.
1949
Waddamana ‘B’ Power Station
starts generating electricity.
1910s
HYDRO TASMANIA: TEN POWERFUL DECADESTEN POWERFUL DECADES
1930s 1950s1920s 1940s
9
Shaw looks forward to continuing to work
with Hydro Tasmania on challenging and
rewarding projects.
ction of 6 Wind Tower Bases at Woolnorth Wind Farm
Hills Diversion project for the development of the
tunnel
on of the Lower Margaret Power Station
Conversion Station at Georgetown
aw Contracting has a long and successful
rking relationship with Hydro Tasmania
TA1452951
1960
Liapootah Power Station is
commissioned.
1962
Catagunya Power Station is
commissioned.
Catagunya Dam becomes the
highest post tensioned dam in the
world.
1964
Poatina Power Station (one of
Hydro Tasmania’s largest) starts
generating electricity.
Shannon Power Station is
decommissioned. Great Lake
(North) Power Development is
completed. First cloud seeding
experiment in Tasmania is
undertaken.
1965
Waddamana ‘A’ Power Station is
decommissioned after 49 years
of service and Waddamana ‘B’ is
placed on standby.
1966
Tods Corner Power Station is
commissioned.
1967
Cluny Power Station is
commissioned along with
Meadowbank Power Station.
State Parliament approves
construction of the Gordon River
Power Development Stage One.
1968
Rowallan Power Station is
commissioned along with Repulse
Power Station and Cluny Power
Station.
1969
Lemonthyme Power Station and
Devils Gate Power Station are
commissioned. Devils Gate Dam
completed, one of the thinnest
concrete arch dams in the world.
1982
State Parliament controversially
approves construction of the Gordon-
below-Franklin scheme. Mackintosh
power station is commissioned.
1983
Federal Parliament passes the World
Heritage Properties Conservation
Act 1983 and work on the Gordon-
below-Franklin scheme is halted.
1985
HEC purchases Lake Margaret
Power Station on the west coast of
Tasmania.
1986
First stage of Reece Power Station
is commissioned and Reece Dam
takes over from Cethana Dam as the
highest concrete-faced rockfill dam
in Australia.
1987
Hydro Tasmania’s consulting arm is
established to ensure engineering
and technical skills remain in the
state.
1988
Third machine comes on line at
Gordon Power Station.
Waddamana ‘A’ Power Station is
opened as a museum.
2002
Parangana mini-hydro power station
commissioned and the first stage of the
Bluff Point Wind Farm at Woolnorth is
commissioned.
2003
Bell Bay Power Station is converted from
oil to natural gas.
2004
Second stage of the Bluff Point Wind
Farm at Woolnorth development is
commissioned.
2005
Hydro Tasmania enters the National
Electricity Market (NEM) – with the
connection of the Basslink undersea cable.
Joint venture Roaring 40s is established
with the CLP Group.
2006
Lake Margaret Power Station is
decommissioned.
Basslink commences operation.
2007
Modernisation of Poatina Power Station
commences.
Drought results in lowest water levels in
Hydro Tasmania’s history.
Studland Bay Wind Farm at Woolnorth is
commissioned.
2008
Lake Margaret redevelopment project is
approved.
Hydro Tasmania acquires 51 per cent
of Momentum Energy – an Australian
electricity retailer.
2009
The full acquisition of Momentum Energy
is completed.
Roaring 40s’ Chinese and Indian assets
are sold to CLP.
Bell Bay Power Station is
decommissioned.
The upper Lake Margaret Power Station is
recommissioned.
1972
Paloona Power Station is
commissioned and Lake Pedder
is flooded.
1973
Fisher Power Station is
commissioned.
1978
First two machines come on
line at Gordon Power Station.
Gordon Dam complete, the
highest concrete arch dam in
Australia – holding back the
largest reservoir of fresh water in
Australia.
1992
John Butters Power Station is
commissioned.
HEC becomes the first
Tasmanian government body to
proclaim an environmental policy
and asserts that “the days of
confrontation are over”.
1994
Waddamana ‘B’ Power Station is
decommissioned after 45 years
of service.
Tribute Power Station is
commissioned and marks the end
of Hydro’s dam building era in
Tasmania.
1997
Wind development begins, with
work starting on the Huxley Hill
Wind Farm on King Island.
1998
Hydro-Electric Corporation is
split into three entities - Hydro
Tasmania (for generation), Aurora
Energy (for retail/distribution)
and Transend Networks (for
transmission).
Huxley Hill Wind Farm is
commissioned and is the
second commercial wind farm in
Australia.
2010
Restoration of Catagunya Dam
completed, the first dam in the
world to use reinforced carbon fibre
technology.
Modernisation of Tungatinah
Power Station commences.
The lower Lake Margaret Power
Station is recommissioned.
A new name for Hydro Tasmania
Consulting: Entura.
2011
Poatina modernisation work is
completed.
Storage levels return to more
than 50 per cent for first time in 10
years.
2012
Work begins on Musselroe Wind
Farm. Partnership formed between
Shenhua Clean Energy Holding
(75%) and Hydro Tasmania (25%)
for joint ownership of the Bluff Point
and Studland Bay wind farms.
Opening of Entura clean energy
and water institute.
2013
Musselroe Wind Farm is
commissioned.
Decommissioning of the dam at
Lagoon of Islands.
Hybrid power station on King Island
achieves world first, supplying all
the island’s needs from renewable
energy for extended periods.
1960s 1980s 2000s1970s 1990s
9

9. 10
A ‘Hydro boy’ tells his story
Jack Warren at Tarraleah in 1935.
Jack Warren at the No.1 canal in
1935.
Jack Warren testing insulators.
Pleased and
proud to be
part of history
WRITTEN in his own words,
this is the story of Jack Warren
and how he came to consider
himself a ‘‘Hydro boy’’.
MY FATHER (John) Jack
Warren worked for ‘‘the
Hydro’’ and helped
construct the canal from Butlers
Gorge to Tarraleah.
I grew up in Tarraleah in a
permanent staffing house that
overlooked the Nive River gorge.
In those days Tarraleah was like
a mini United Nations with many
‘‘new Australians’’ swelling the
workforce and the school.
We all got on very well at school
as I recollect and racial
discrimination was unheard of by
me.
Sport was a big thing then, we
played football in winter and
cricket in summer - I wasn’t very
good at either.
The annual primary schools
athletic carnival was a big day.
Tarraleah, Wayatinah, Ouse and
Hamilton schools competed for the
shield.
I remember one year Tarraleah
won the shield and our bus driver
did a complete lap of the village so
we could let the village know of
our victory.
My mother learnt to play the
organ and played at various
church services, we were also
expected to attend Sunday school.
The town hall quickly became
the hub of all social activities
including fancy dress
competitions, visiting musical
shows and also dance evenings.
There was a tennis court, nine-
hole golf course and a heated pool,
which were all built by voluntary
labour and assistance in kind from
the Hydro.
I can still remember the clouds
of steam rising from the pool on a
cold winter’s morning.
I loved spending time with my
father and was even fortunate
enough to go to work with him
sometimes.
One day I was taken down to
Tarraleah Power Station the
morning after one of the
generators had been burnt out the
night before (this was as serious
an event as you could get in a
power station), it was so exciting
to be part of the action.
When I got a bit older I worked
as a ‘‘nipper’’ during the summer
holidays removing paint and rust
from the inside of a turbine casing
during maintenance.
I started working for the Hydro
in 1969, helping build the Wilmot
Power Station, and living in the
single men’s camp at Gowrie Park.
Now that my time with the
Hydro is over, I still reminisce the
wonderful years growing up at
Tarraleah and my working life as
well.
I am pleased and proud to be a
very small part of Hydro’s
hundred years in Tasmania and
will always regard myself as a
‘Hydro boy’.
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10. 11
Life and times with the Hydro
Waddamana station in 1994
GRAEME Fleming, his father,
brother and son have between
them clocked up nearly 120
years with Hydro Tasmania.
This is an extract of Graeme’s
memories of Hydro life.
ISPENT the first five years of
my life in Waddamana.
My fondest memory would be
the time I spent with the family
dog Tiger who was my playmate
and guardian.
The hardest experience I had as
a child was when we moved to
Poatina and there was a ‘‘no dog’’
policy, so my mate Tiger had to
relocate to Hobart to live out his
days with my grandparents.
I remember being frightened
driving down the mountain into
Poatina – as I looked out the car
window I thought it was very
steep.
There were buildings
everywhere and I had never seen
so many people.
Waddamana had a population of
about 60 and Poatina at the time
was about two thousand.
Waddamana School had one
room for all classes, but Poatina
had around eight rooms for over
200 students.
By 1968 the enrolment at Poatina
was down to around 40 students in
two classrooms, one for Kinder to
grade three and one for grades
four to six.
During my primary school years
at Poatina, as the village
downsized with the construction
branch moving onto Gowrie Park,
I continually lost friends that I had
made.
Also amenities and shops closed
down during this time, the post
office was relocated, the electrical
store went, the barber and milk
bars closed.
Then the Saturday film night
went as well.
By 1968 the store was taken over
and run by the Hydro.
By this time the only
entertainment left was the
swimming pool.
Over my teenage years, village
life centred around the golf course,
fishing the local streams,
exploring the bush around the
village and playing social cricket
with the Poatina cricket club.
In 1974 I started an
apprenticeship in the Great Lake
area as an electrical fitter.
I was the first Power Branch
apprentice to be employed in the
Great Lake area.
After 12 months I had saved
$1500 and an old fitter advised me
I had enough to buy a block of land
at Longford.
Who was he kidding? I wanted a
car so I could get out of Poatina.
There was not much to do for
young lads in Poatina at this time.
For more stories like this one, go to
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on celebrating 100 years
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TASMANIA 24/7
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11. 12
Major consumer of electricity
Bell Bay Aluminium has been a valued customer of Hydro Tasmania since it opened. Images circa 1950.
Aluminum
smelter
contributes
$690 million
into state
economy
Bell Bay Aluminium community relations specialist Lou Clark with
Beaconsfield Primary School pupils Kaitlyn Miller, Danielle Horton and
Charlie Christmas.
BELL Bay Aluminium has
always been, and remains
today, a major consumer of
electricity in Tasmania and a
long-term customer of Hydro
Tasmania.
Electricity is vital in the
processing of aluminum where it
is used to split aluminum and
oxygen particles.
It was because of the availability
of clean, reliable and competitive
electricity, combined with access
to a deep water port, that the
smelter was established at Bell
Bay 59 years ago.
Bell Bay Aluminum community
relations specialist Lou Clark said
the aluminum smelter was the
first in the Southern Hemisphere
and was built in 1944 by the
Tasmanian and Australian
governments.
Construction commenced in the
late 1940s and it took six years to
build the smelter. It opened on
September 23, 1955.
‘‘Effectively the government saw
electricity as a resource to create
economic activity, so their intent
during the 1940s and 50s was to
attract industry here,’’ Ms Clark
said.
‘‘Also, during the war there was
a shortage of aluminium and the
Australian government didn’t
want to have to import it.’’
The smelter operates 24 hours a
day, seven days a week and has its
own electricity infrastructure to
cope with its enormous input and
voltage.
The smelter receives its power at
220,000 volts, compared to a
household, which is 240 volts, and
has its own high voltage
operations team onsite to keep this
important input stable.
‘‘We operate our own
infrastructure and that includes
things like high voltage
equipment, transformers and
substations requiring
considerable capital expense,’’ Ms
Clark said.
Ms Clark explained that as the
biggest single consumer of
electricity in Tasmania, the
smelter maintained constant
communication with those who
manage the Tasmanian power
system, including Hydro
Tasmania, to ensure smooth and
continued operation of the state’s
electricity grid.
‘‘At times the smelter is called
upon to reduce its load for short
periods to help power authorities
manage events that would
otherwise lead to power
disruptions for other consumers,’’
Ms Clark said.
‘‘Our relationship with Hydro is
not just about that corporate story,
it’s about thousands of Tasmanian
families who have worked for
Hydro and the aluminium smelter
and have helped shape the state’s
economy.’’
Currently the smelter employs
425 Tasmanians directly and
another 1000 indirectly.
Last year it contributed $690
million to the Tasmanian economy
and, through the purchase of
goods and services, injected $247
million in to the local economy.
TA1460084
We salute
A tremendous milestone, that
helped build Tasmania to be the
energyefficiencyleaderinAustralia.
If your business has a milestone
celebration coming up, then this
style of Corporate Feature can
showcase your achievements.
It is a cost effective way to tell
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12. Momentum,
Entura, the
new faces
of Hydro Tas
Bhutanese participants at the Entura clean energy and water institute visiting Tarraleah Power Station in
April 2014.
Staff at Momentum Energy’s outbound sales centre at Cambridge, Hobart.
Momentum Energy
Momentum Energy is Hydro
Tasmania’s retail energy
business.
Based in Victoria, Momentum
Energy has grown considerably
over recent years, extending its
operational reach to New South
Wales, South Australia and
Queensland.
It specialises in serving
primarily industrial and business
customers and tailors products to
suit their specific energy needs.
It also delivers retail services to
the Bass Strait islands, but is
prevented by legislation from
operating on mainland Tasmania.
Acquired by Hydro Tasmania in
2008-09, it employs around 280
people, including 28 based at its
call centre at Cambridge,
Tasmania.
Momentum Energy is critical to
Hydro Tasmania to sell its excess
generation into the national
market and enhance its long-term
commercial performance.
It enables Hydro Tasmania to
diversify its market risk, while
creating value for the Tasmanian
government and the community.
It will help drive Hydro
Tasmania’s profitability into the
future.
Momentum Energy further
enhances Tasmania’s brand
within Australia for clean energy,
environmental sustainability,
innovation and service.
Entura
Entura is Hydro Tasmania’s
professional services
business, leveraging the
state’s renewable energy history
for competitive advantage.
For more than 20 years,
Entura has used the knowledge
and expertise built up over time
to help others in the industry,
locally, nationally and overseas.
Its particular expertise is in
the power, energy, water and
environment sectors with
clients such as government,
electricity and water utilities,
developers and funding
agencies.
With a main office at
Cambridge, Tasmania, Entura
also has offices in Melbourne,
Brisbane, India and South
Africa, employing more than 200
people.
Entura also supports Hydro
Tasmania in delivering its
strategic objectives and
maintaining and operating its
generation infrastructure,
including the introduction of
new methodologies to contribute
to efficient and effective
development, management and
operation of energy and water
assets.
The Entura clean energy and
water institute showcases
Tasmania to the world using a
mix of classroom and field-based
education and training.
The institute has developed a
partnership with the Asian
Institute of Technology, is a
registered training organisation
and delivers tailored training to
participants from many
different countries,
predominantly from the Asia-
Pacific region.

13. We are proud to supply quality
• Labour • Fabrication • Machining
• Blasting • Painting
to Hydro Tasmania
Foreman - Brendan Emery 0429 140 259
Manager - Michael Keygan 0419 588 386
tttttttttttttttttoooooooooooooooo HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHyyyyyyyyyyyyyyydddddddddddddrrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooooo TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssssssssmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnniiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaa
This is a cradle designed to transport the old
turbine shaft to and from a machine shop
TA1450539
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Here for the
long haul
Hydro Tasmania wants to remain Australia’s leading renewable energy business.
PREDICTING the future is
always a challenge, but one
thing is for sure, the business
is intent on being around for its
200th birthday.
There is no doubt the next few
years will be challenging as a
range of external factors conspire
to reduce profitability from the
record levels of recent times.
However, the business is
responding in the only way it
knows how. It has shown over the
past 100 years that a key part of its
DNA has been the capacity to
adapt to various challenges and
changing circumstances.
This will be crucial as it sets its
sights on the next 100 years.
The electricity market is
changing dramatically and Hydro
Tasmania is responding to these
changes.
Technological advances and
customers taking greater control
of the way they manage their
energy needs has resulted in a
growing ‘revolution’ which will
forever alter the way power is
generated, delivered and sold in
Australia.
Failure to keep up with the
needs of customers will threaten
the survival of many operators in
the Australian electricity market.
The importance of ‘the Hydro’ to
Tasmania cannot be under-
estimated.
The Tasmanian Government
believes the business is a
significant long-term strategic
asset for the state that will help
grow the economy and attract new
investment.
A key part of this will be how it
manages its hydropower assets.
The business continues to invest
strongly in upgrading
infrastructure to lengthen the life
of its assets.
It is also upgrading the
performance of its hydro plants to
increase their efficiency.
These are crucial parts of a
rolling 10-year asset management
plan which maintains a long-term
view to ensure hydro assets
continue to serve the Tasmanian
community for a long time to
come.
At the same time Hydro
Tasmania is looking further ahead
at emerging opportunities in the
renewable energy sector, such as
displacing expensive diesel fuel
with innovative hybrid power
systems in off-grid and remote
locations.
The business is also
investigating ways to increase the
benefits of 100 years of investment
in hydro generation through
projects such as a second
interconnector across Bass Strait.
Nobody can predict what life
will look like in 2114.
But one thing is for sure:
renewable energy will be more
important over the next one
hundred years than it has ever
been.
Tasmania’s unique lifestyle and
landscape, coupled with our
natural renewable energy
resources provide us with a
competitive advantage.
As we grapple with managing
the challenges presented by
climate change, and our society
makes decisions about how best to
use the resources available to us,
fully exploring the potential of
renewable energy must be at the
fore of our thinking.
It’s a big world and Hydro
Tasmania is contributing to
sustainable energy in a big way,
through shaping approaches to
sourcing and using energy that
will continue to matter for decades
to come.

14. Facts and figures may surprise
Hydro Tasmania is Australia’s largest water manager.
Did you know...
■ The Hydro Tasmania group is
one business with three brands:
Hydro Tasmania (electricity
generation and trading electricity
and environmental products),
Entura (international consulting
services in renewable energy and
water) and Momentum Energy
(electricity retail on Australian
mainland and Bass Strait islands).
■ Hydro Tasmania sells wholesale
electricity to retailers in the
National Electricity Market
(including Tasmania) who then
sell to households, small
businesses and larger commercial
and industrial customers.
■ The consulting business,
Entura, exports Tasmanian
expertise to countries across the
globe. In recent years Entura has
undertaken projects in South
Africa, Malaysia, Papua New
Guinea, India, Bhutan, Nepal, the
Solomon Islands and Easter
Island.
■ Legislation prevents
Momentum Energy retailing in
Tasmania. However, its outbound
sales call centre is located at
Cambridge, near Hobart,
employing 28 people.
■ Hydro Tasmania is Australia’s
largest provider of renewable
energy, generating more than
twice as much as the Snowy
Mountains Scheme each year.
■ Hydro Tasmania is the largest
water manager in Australia. Its
storages hold more water than 30
Sydney Harbours.
■ Hydro Tasmania manages 55
major dams, 145 smaller dams and
45 of Tasmania’s major lakes; at
least 1200 kilometres of natural
creeks and rivers are influenced
by hydropower operations in some
way.
■ The Gordon Dam, completed in
1974, remains an engineering
marvel. There is no structural
steel in the 140-metre high double-
curvature concrete arch dam.
Gordon Dam is the highest arch
dam built in Australia.
■ Hydro Tasmania has developed
a world-leading hybrid power
system on King Island that
supplies all the island’s energy
through renewables when
conditions allow. The system
significantly reduces use of
expensive diesel fuel and is a
model for off-grid power systems
for isolated communities around
the world.
■ Musselroe is the largest wind
farm in Tasmania. With 56
turbines and a 168-megawatt
capacity it can generate enough
energy to supply the needs of up to
50,000 homes – equivalent to the
power needs of Burnie and
Devonport.
■ In the past year alone, Hydro
Tasmania spent $74.6 million with
931 Tasmanian suppliers – 41 per
cent of its overall spend on goods
and services for the year.
■ Many of Tasmania’s irrigation
schemes rely on Hydro Tasmania
to reliably supply water. Release of
water by Hydro Tasmania
supports growth in the state’s
agricultural sector.
■ In partnership with Sustainable
Living Tasmania, Hydro
Tasmania has provided free
energy assessments for more than
900 low-income households. The
yearly energy bill for an average
home would be reduced by around
$350 once energy efficiency
measures were put in place.
■ Hydro Tasmania supports use of
waterways for recreational
activity. Water releases make it
possible for canoe clubs, schools,
commercial tour operators and
private groups to take part in
recreational, competition and
training events. In a typical year
there are between 100 and 200
water releases to support
recreation.
If you are interested in being part of this
Special Feature on Monday September 15
….please call Gil Sellars on 6336 7285.
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Electrical & Computers
S
Coming Soon....
OUR RIVER,
OUR VALLEY,
OUR CITY
September 15 TA1460089

15. It’s our birthday, and we
want you to celebrate with us!
Hydro Tasmania is turning 100, and we’re hosting
a series of free community activities to say thanks
to the people who’ve contributed to the business
over the past century.
For more information, or to share your Hydro stories and photos visit hydro100.com.au
PUBLIC EXHIBITION - 100 YEARS OF HYDRO
100 Years of Hydro is a travelling exhibition that uses imagery and
interactive technology to tell the story of the past 100 years, from
construction of the first power station, Waddamana, to the novel
technologies used today.
Visit the free exhibition at the following locations:
LAUNCESTON
Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery
Wednesday 27 August - Sunday 5 October
QUEENSTOWN
Queenstown Heritage and Arts Festival
Friday 10 October - Sunday 12 October
HOBART
Mawson Place
Saturday 18 October - Tuesday 4 November
TARRALEAH
Tarraleah Village
Sunday 9 November - ongoing
POWER STATION TOURS
It’s Hydro Tasmania’s open home! Come on a guided tour of some of
our power stations and learn how we turn water into the electricity
that powers our homes and businesses.
TREVALLYN: Sunday 31 August
GORDON: Sunday 21 September
PALOONA: Sunday 12 October
DEVILS GATE: Sunday 12 October
LAKE MARGARET: Saturday - Sunday 11-12 October
TARRALEAH: Sunday 9 November
SCHOOLS FUTURE THINKING COMPETITION
Open until 26 September
If you know a young ‘future thinker’, we want to hear from them!
In this online competition, we’re asking students to imagine the
future of energy supply and use, for a chance to win prizes for
themselves and their school.
Go to hydro100.com.au/futurethinkingcomp
QUEENSTOWN HERITAGE AND ARTS FESTIVAL
Friday - Sunday 10-12 October
As a major supporter of this award-winning festival, we invite you to
help celebrate the ‘Power of Water’ and the centenary of the Lake
Margaret Power Station - the oldest operating hydropower station
in Australia. Festival highlights include the 100 Years of Hydro
exhibition and guided tours of Lake Margaret Power Station.
BACK TO WADDAMANA DAY
Sunday 26 October
Join us for a free family day at the site of our first power station.
The original station came into service in May 1916, providing
the first hydro-electric power to Hobart. There’ll be entertainment,
refreshments, and guided tours of Waddamana Power
Station Museum.
TASMANIAN SYMPHONY
ORCHESTRA CONCERT AT TARRALEAH
Saturday 8 November
As principal partner of the TSO, we are commemorating our long
partnership in our centenary year with an historic concert in
Tarraleah. Soak up the sounds and immerse yourself in the history
of what was one of the first, largest and most sophisticated Hydro
villages in Tasmania. Tickets available early October, limited seats.