Discoverers of the Snowy Mountains by Elyne Mitchell (Second Hand Book)

SECOND HAND BOOK – EX LIBRARY

The story of the discovery and exploration of Australia’s highest mountains.

Elyne Mitchell has roamed the Snowy Mountains on horseback and skis for almost fifty years. In this book she conveys her own fascination and the love she feels for Australia’s highest mountains as she relates the stories of successive explorers.

Whether they wanted to climb the mountains ‘because they were there’, whether they were fascinated by geology or the unique alpine wildflowers, whether looking for grazing land or gold, each of them made their own discoveries. In 1840, Strzelecki and James Macarthur, a grazier, made one of the most important early expeditions into the mountains. While they explored the Snowies Strzelecki named the highest peak – and picked wildflowers for his girlfriend in Poland. The legends of superb mountain bushmen and their magnificent feats of horsemanship were created by graziers, such as William Brodribb and the Spencers, who had to ride over rugged, wild country through fierce blizzards with mobs of sheep or cattle. These were the men who inspired Paterson’s great poem, ‘The Man from Snowy River’.

In 1859 the discovery of gold at Kiandra brought thousands of miners flooding into the area. In the second winter of the gold-rush a discovery of a different kind transformed mountain winters forever – someone tore up fence palings and skied on them. The first ski races were held in the streets of Kiandra. The new-found joy of skimming over snow led to ski-touring. Groups of energetic young men began making winter expeditions to the mountains and camping out in drovers’ huts. They continued the process of discovery, naming new peaks, valleys and rivers.

Elyne Mitchell began skiing in 1936 with her husband and friends. They carried their gear on pack-horses, riding from one exciting new slope to another and staying in huts or even camping in the snow. Today the building of new roads, the creation of national parks and the growth of skiing mean that many more people can discover the Snowy Mountains for themselves – at a high ecological cost. Elyne Mitchell expresses her concern for the fragile alpine environment under the onslaught of thousands of tourists a year.

Specifications:

Condition: Fair. Ex-library – spine has library stickers, front and back end papers have library stamps, wrapped in plastic covering.

Publisher: Macmillan Australia

Year: 1985

Format: Hardback

Pages: 235

ISBN-10: 0333400682

$14.00

1 in stock