Telling hydro's tale

Hydro Tasmania has been integral to the development of Australia’s island state. Much has been written about its role in generating the energy that drove the local economy, and how the corporation dominated the political and cultural landscape throughout much of the twentieth century. But less is known about the thousands of people who worked for the government-owned entity and the impact this had on workers’ lives and families.

In October 2004, author Heather Felton undertook the task of researching an intimate and personal history of those who had worked for Hydro Tasmania since the formation of the hydroelectric department in 1914. The result is a 512-page book called Ticklebelly Tales and Other Stories from the People of the Hydro. It was published by Hydro Tasmania in May 2008 and contains over 2000 photographs which depict numerous events and technical processes. The book is a social history told from the varying viewpoints of employees, contractors, their spouses and children. Individuals share their experiences which were pivotal to Tasmania’s development.

‘This is the first time that the history of The Hydro [Hydro Tasmania] has been told from the perspective of the many thousands of people who worked for the business,’ says Hydro Tasmania chairman David Crean. ‘The book is an acknowledgement of their immense contribution and a celebration of what it meant to be part of The Hydro.’

During its 84 years up to disaggregation in 1998, Hydro Tasmania employed more than 20,000 people, peaking in 1985 with a total workforce of 5247. ‘That’s a lot of people and a lot of stories to tell,’ Crean says.

As most dam construction sites and power stations tended to be located well away from settled areas, between 1912 and the 1970s Hydro Tasmania built ten company towns. While some were transitory, virtually disappearing when their power schemes came to an end, others were more permanent. They housed employees who worked in the power stations and maintained transmission lines and other structures. Many families moved from village to village during the construction era. Their connection with The Hydro could last for up to five generations with both parents and children becoming employees.

The origins for the name of the book can be traced back to Ticklebelly Flat, the name given to the married quarters at Tarraleah camp number 2 during the 1930s. The name has come to signify the humour, tenacity, resilience and sense of community characteristic of the people who worked for the hydro commission. As one contributor to the book said, ‘the comradeship and friendship were outstanding’.

Developing Tarraleah

The Tarraleah power development was approved by the Tasmanian parliament in 1934. It was viewed not only as a way of meeting future demands for electricity, but as helping to solve Tasmania’s employment problems. Initially, as the construction sites were not served by roads, recruitment was restricted to single men and to those married men prepared to live on their own at isolated worksites. Only tent accommodation was available and facilities were rudimentary.

Gradually more wives joined their husbands as many families could not afford to maintain a separate home. In 1934 the Australian Workers’ Union raised the need for family accommodation but it wasn’t until the following year, with building materials more readily available, that camps were upgraded. Milled timber was also distributed to workers who were prepared to build their own accommodation.

As Crean acknowledges: ‘The book highlights the challenges of living and working in drought and flood, heat and snow and the harsh landscape of the Tasmanian bush. It also deals with the challenges of isolation and bringing up a family with few services and little comforts of home. It shows how people adapted to the way of life in camps and villages.’

Felton’s book traces the development of hydro in Tasmania throughout the 1930s, focuses on the arrival of migrants during and after the Second World War to the great post-war development boom. After the environmental debates of the 1970s and 1980s, it then reflects on the end of the dam construction era in the 1990s.

Crean admits that Hydro Tasmania is now a much different business to what it was ten years ago, let alone the previous decades that are featured in the book. However, its history remains a vital part of the company’s culture. ‘We know the people who built The Hydro have provided the foundations, the building blocks and the capability of what Hydro Tasmania is today. This book recognises the ingenuity, foresight, skill and dedication of the many thousands of people who worked for the company, as well as their families. The book is their story.’

Ticklebelly Tales and Other Stories from the People of the Hydro by Heather Felton is published by Hydro Tasmania (www.hydro.com.au) and is available from good book stores (listings can be found on www.whitepages.com.au)