Smiggin Holes, New South Wales

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Smiggin Holes
New South Wales
Smiggin holes.jpg
Smiggin Holes Ski Resort, 2010
Australia New South Wales location map blank.svg
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Smiggin Holes
Coordinates 36°23′40″S148°25′45″E / 36.39444°S 148.42917°E / -36.39444; 148.42917 Coordinates: 36°23′40″S148°25′45″E / 36.39444°S 148.42917°E / -36.39444; 148.42917
Population19 (SAL 2021) [1]
Established1939
Postcode(s) 2624
Elevation1,680 m (5,512 ft)
LGA(s) Snowy Monaro Regional Council
State electorate(s) Monaro
Federal division(s) Eden-Monaro

Smiggin Holes is a village in the ski resort area of Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia, in the Snowy Monaro Regional Council. It is primarily a winter-only resort village. It is within the Kosciuszko National Park, and is administered by New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change. Access to the village is via road. There is an access fee payable to the national park, and motor vehicles are not permitted to stay overnight in the winter months.

Contents

Smiggin Holes is one of four villages making up the Perisher Ski Resort. It is situated 1,680 metres (5,510 ft) above sea level.

The name Smiggin Holes is of Scottish origin. The trampling of hundreds of cattle consuming rock salt that graziers had placed there, caused depressions that filled with water. These depressions were called "the smiggin holes". [2] The year 1939 signified the start of Smiggin Holes as a destination for skiers. Smiggin Holes is widely regarded as one of the best beginners' ski resorts on the Australian snowfields. The snow bowl is relatively sheltered, which protect it from harsh weather, avoiding the harsher weather experienced across the wider Snowy Mountains. [3] A cafe was established to service skiers en route to Charlotte Pass and Mount Kosciuszko.

Skiing

A snow making machine at Smiggin Holes. Snow making machine.jpg
A snow making machine at Smiggin Holes.

The Hotel Kosciuszko was opened by the New South Wales Government in 1909 at what is now Sponars Chalet, near Smiggin Holes. [4] The first Kosciuszko Chalet was built at Charlotte Pass in 1930, giving relatively comfortable access to Australia's highest terrain. [5] The growing number of ski enthusiasts heading to Charlotte Pass led to the establishment of a cafe at Smiggin Holes around 1939, where horse-drawn sleighs would deliver skiers to be begin the arduous ski to the Kosciusko Chalet. [2] It was the construction of the vast Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme from 1949 that really opened up the Snowy Mountains for large scale development of a ski industry and led to the establishment of Thredbo and Perisher as leading Australian resorts. [2] [6] The Construction of Guthega Dam brought skiers to the isolated Guthega district and a rope tow was installed there in 1957. [7]

The last establishment of a major skifield in New South Wales came with the development of Mount Blue Cow in the 1980s. In 1987 the Skitube opened to deliver skiers from Bullocks Flat, on the Alpine Way, to Perisher Valley and to Blue Cow, which also opened in 1987. [2] [8] The operators of Blue Cow purchased Guthega in 1991, and the new combined resort later merged with Perisher-Smiggins to become the largest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere. [2] In 2009 Perisher had 48 lifts covering 1,245 hectares (3,080 acres) and four village base areas: Perisher Valley, Blue Cow, Smiggin Holes and Guthega. [9]

Media

During the 2002 Winter Olympics Roy & HG ran a mock campaign for Smiggin Holes to host the next available Winter Olympics on The Ice Dream television program. [10]

See also

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The Kosciuszko National Park is a 6,900-square-kilometre (2,700 sq mi) national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wilderness, characterised by an alpine climate, which makes it popular with recreational skiers and bushwalkers.

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Charlotte Pass, New South Wales

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Perisher Ski Resort

Perisher Ski Resort is the largest ski resort in the Southern Hemisphere. Located in the Australian Snowy Mountains, the resort is an amalgamation of four villages and their associated ski fields, covering approximately 12 square kilometres (5 sq mi), with the base elevation at 1,720 metres (5,640 ft) AHD, and the summit elevation of 2,054 metres (6,739 ft) at the top of Mount Perisher. 4.4 square kilometres (1.7 sq mi) of this area is covered by 240 snow guns, which are used to artificially supplement the natural snowfall. Perisher was acquired by Vail Resorts, United States on 30 March 2015 for a sum of approximately AU$177 million.

Skiing in New South Wales

Skiing in New South Wales takes place in the high country of the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales during the Southern Hemisphere winter.

Kosciuszko Road

The Kosciuszko Road is a road in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Australia which runs from Pine Valley, to the ski resort of Charlotte Pass. It passes through the towns of Berridale and Jindabyne before entering Kosciuszko National Park. Within the national park it provides access to Smiggin Holes and Perisher Valley and Charlotte Pass ski resorts, and terminates just past the entry to the latter.

Kosciusko Alpine Club (KAC) is the second oldest ski club in Australia after the Kiandra Pioneer Ski Club (1861). It was founded in 1909, two months after the NSW Government opened the Hotel Kosciusko at Diggers Creek, the first hotel in the Kosciusko area. The Hotel Kosciusko became the winter home of KAC until 1930 when the Kosciusko Chalet opened at Charlotte's Pass. KAC was the only ski club in the Kosciuszko area until 1920 when the Ski Club of Australia was formed.

References

  1. ↑ Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Smiggin Holes (Suburb and Locality)". Australian Census 2021 QuickStats. Retrieved 28 June 2022.  OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "The History of Perisher Blue". Corporate. Perisher Blue . Retrieved 4 September 2007.
  3. ↑ "Smiggin Holes - Accommodation, Skiing & Things to Do". VisitNSW.com. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  4. ↑ ":: Welcome to Kosciusko Alpine Club ::". Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 24 July 2009.
  5. ↑ "Charlotte Pass Ski Resort - Kosciuszko Chalet Hotel". Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "Thredbo's History".
  7. ↑ "Christiana Capital : Guthega Ski Resort". Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  8. ↑ Skitube - the New Way to the Snow Transit Australia September 1987 page 163
  9. ↑ "File Not Found".
  10. ↑ Bower, Amanda (25 February 2002). "Olympics 2010: On to Smiggin Holes!". Time . Time Inc. Archived from the original on 26 February 2002. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
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