page_title: Snowy Mountains
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Snowy Mountains / History
context_page_description: The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion and the highest mountain range on the continent of mainland Australia. It contains the Australian mainland's highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, which reaches to a height of 2,228 m above sea level. The range also contains the five highest peaks on the Australian mainland, all of which are above 2,100 m. They are located in southern New South Wales and are part of the larger Australian Alps and Great Dividing Range, experiencing large natural snowfalls every winter. Snow normally falls during June, July, August and early September, with the snow cover melting by late spring. The Tasmanian highlands makes up the other alpine region present in Australia.
  The range is host to the mountain plum-pine, a low-lying type of conifer. It is considered to be one of the centres of the Australian ski industry during the winter months, with all four snow resorts in New South Wales being located in the region.
  The Alpine Way and Snowy Mountains Highway are the major roads through the Snowy Mountains region.
context_section_description: The mountain range is thought to have had Aboriginal occupation for 20,000 years. Large scale intertribal gatherings were held in the High Country during summer for collective feasting on the Bogong moth. This practice continued until around 1865.
  The area was first explored by Europeans in 1835, and in 1840, Edmund Strzelecki ascended Mount Kosciuszko and named it after the Polish patriot. High country stockmen followed who used the Snowy Mountains for grazing during the summer months. Banjo Paterson's famous poem The Man From Snowy River recalls this era. The cattle graziers have left a legacy of mountain huts scattered across the area. Today these huts are maintained by the National Parks and Wildlife Service or volunteer organisations like the Kosciuszko Huts Association.
  In the 19th century gold was mined on the high plains near Kiandra. At its height this community had a population of about 4,000 people, and ran 14 hotels. Since the last resident left in 1974, Kiandra has become a ghost town of ruins and abandoned diggings.
  The Kosciuszko National Park came into existence as the National Chase Snowy Mountains on 5 December 1906.  In 1944 this became the Kosciuszko State Park, and then the Kosciuszko National Park in 1967.
  Recreational skiing began at Kiandra in the 1860s and experienced a boom in the 20th century following the commencement of the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme between 1949 and 1976 which brought many European workers to the district and opened up access to the ranges.
caption: Skiing in Australia began in the goldrush town of Kiandra around 1861.
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