ACT Heritage Library Manuscript Collection

HMSS 0195 Tate Ski Club Papers

Scope and content notes

The Tate Ski Club began in 1952 as the Snowy Mountains Authority (SMA) Ski Club, which was formed to promote skiing and to provide lodge facilities for employees and families of the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Authority. In 1969 the Club was incorporated as the Tate Ski Club.

For the first three years the Club organised day trips, mainly to Smiggin Holes, but in 1955 it converted one of the old Guthega Dam construction buildings into a ski lodge. A new lodge was built on the same site in 1970, but part of the old building remained in use for a while. The new lodge was extended in 1972.

In 1957 the Club installed a rope tow from the head of the Guthega River to the east ridge of Mount Tate. This was extended in 1960 and 1963 and managed under licence by Walter Spanring, who subsequently developed Guthega Village as a ski resort. The tow was struck by lightning and burned down in January 1965.

By 1971 membership was 120, the maximum permitted under Club rules. Although incorporated as a general community facility, the Club continues to include a significant number of past and present employees of the SMA and their families.

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