Behind the Worker: Fiona Suthern

Fiona Suthern, Leed Engineering Accommodation Manager for Snowy 2.0, feels deeply connected to this project. Before it became a national park, the land served as livestock grazing territory. When the park was established, the Department of Lands employed local men as rangers, including Fiona’s grandfather, Tom Taylor.

The rangers were responsible for ensuring the snow leases were stocked with the approved number of sheep, covering vast geographic areas that extended as far as Tumut. Yards were established at Rules Point, allowing rangers to check the number of stock being transported to and from the leases. From the late 1940s until 1988, Tom and Mollie Taylor lived at Currango, near Tantangara Dam, acting as caretakers for what was then called the Kosciuszko State Park.

Fiona’s father, Ted Taylor, first became involved with the Snowy Scheme in 1952 when survey crews arrived at Currango, needing horses to carry their equipment up to the trig sites on the high mountains. At just 15 years old, Ted's responsibilities included looking after five horses and dismantling rocks around the trig site to set up the Theodolite for surveying.

In 1955, Ted began working for Major Clews at Indi on the Snowy Scheme. His tasks included running traverse lines, climbing mountains, clearing for trig sites, and building suspension bridges.

In Ted’s own words to describe the challenging conditions on the original Snowy Scheme:

“We carried all the heavy survey equipment on our shoulders, along with axes to clear the line of sight. We had to walk everywhere because the terrain was often too steep or boggy for vehicles. We lived in tents and slept on steel or canvas stretchers with straw mattresses. Comfort depended on how much straw we packed into our palliasse. On cold winter days, the only thing to warm us was a nip of rum from Major Clews.”

After his time with the surveyors, Ted transitioned to machinery. He worked 10-hour shifts with no smoko breaks, just a half-hour meal break, paid for the full 10 hours.

At Adaminaby Dam, the camp was initially called Eaglehawk and was later renamed Eucumbene. The camp featured married and single quarters, as well as a community hall for dances. Some camps were segregated, housing the staff on one side and workers on the other. With only one or two policemen assigned to each campsite of 1,500 to 2,000 workers, gambling and drinking were common.

Ted would reflect on his experience, saying, “working on the Snowy was a great opportunity. It taught you to get along with people from all walks of life, to work and live together, and to form lasting friendships."

Fiona grew up surrounded by stories of mountain life and the Snowy Scheme. “My father had a remarkable way of bringing those stories to life, making it easy to visualise the characters and experiences in my mind,” she said.