Lyn Gibbs of Falls Creek Ski Lifts (and all round nice person) was showing my family and I some of her great collection of historic photo's of Falls Creek. She hopes to one day publish a book of the history of Falls Creek and include her huge collection.

I asked if I could include some on these pages and she kindly agreed. This history is based on the information I have picked up over the years, I hope its accurate. 

One very interesting feature I have noticed in all of these photo's on the front and rear of the resort, the tree's have grown and filled in enormously since the resort was developed. I have heard arguments that these resorts damage the environment and I agree they do but these photo's show that the opposite can also be true.

FALLS CREEK LATE 1950'S IF YOU LOOK YOU CAN SEE

DIANA LODGE (Front brown building)

The European workers who helped build the Rocky Valley hydro-electric storage dam, after the Second World War, were the first to imagine Falls Creek as a resort. At the time, the land in the area was controlled by the State Electricity Commission and they became the resort's first managers.

Prior to European settlement, Aborigines inhabited the high plains in spring and summer for many thousands of years. The Bogong High Plains were first visited by John Mitchell who climbed from the Kiewa Valley in 1843. In 1851 they were approached and traversed from the Buckety Plain spur by Brown and Wells.

Settlement of the lowland areas surrounding the Bogong High Plains inevitably led to the use of alpine land for stock grazing and grazing licenses were first issued in 1851 to Jack Wells and Jim Brown. Most of the Bogong High Plains was pioneered by these cattlemen. Limited numbers of cattle are now permitted to graze the high country.

FALLS CREEK IN THE 1950'S

(NOTICE THE HEIGHT OF THE ROPE TOW ON SUMMIT WOULD HAVE GOT SORE ARMS)

Falls Creek was first known as "Horseshoe Creek" by the early cattlemen. It was renamed by the Country Roads Board whilst carrying out a road survey for the State Electricity Commission in 1938.

The first building to be erected in the Falls Creek area was a weather recording hut for the State Electricity Commission circa 1946-47. Mr. and Mrs. Toni St. Elmo-Beveridge lived in this hut and around 1951 they built a rope tow in the picture above where the Summit Quad Chairlift now stands.

This hut was actually the couples second home, they actually lived in Wallace's Hut.

MR AND MRS TONI ST ELMO-BEVERIDGE IN THE DOORWAY OF THEIR HUT

Skyline Lodge, built in 1948, It was built by Toni and several other workers on the scheme and for some time its existence was kept a secret from the SEC, followed in 1949 by Bogong Ski Club, Albury and Myrtleford Ski Clubs and then in the early 1950's Mr. Tom Mitchell built Dawn lodge. Later the name was changed to Magpie before being pulled down to make way for Rocky Valley Ski Club.

The Nissen Rope Tow built in 1951 was built where the Summit lift is today. The biggest problem however was convincing people to use it. It never made any money but it was the start of skiing in Falls Creek

NISSEN ROPE TOW WITH A SKI TICKET FROM THE 1950'S

Mr. Bob Hyman's two storey Grand Coeur lodge built in 1949-50 could accommodate some 70 people but in 1961 it was destroyed by fire. Mr. Cec Dobson opened the first general store in the early 1950's supplying groceries to the developing lodges and an increasing number of guests. Cec's store was where Winterhaven now stands.

Bob Hymans built the first chairlift in Australia at Falls Creek in 1957. This was very basic by today's standards and was a single seater. This lift was built up what we call the International run today, you can still see the concrete base station and in summer if you look the cable is still sitting on the ground where it was dropped.

THE FIRST SKI LIFT IN AUSTRALIA

Development of Falls Creek up until the mid 1960's was largely in the Village Bowl and front valley, the Sun Valley came later with the construction of the Sun Valley T Bar but this area was a favourite of the regulars that worked up in Falls Creek. The construction of the Gully Lift is what really opened Falls Creek up as it also opened up some easier terrain to ski on.

A feature of the Gully in the 60's I believe was a huge ski jump where the Snow Ski apartments are today. I have seen pictures of this on the wall in Cummings Ski Hire..

In 1961 Alpine Developments Pty. Ltd. was formed to buy St. Elmo's tow and the old Nissen Lodge. After gaining a lease on part of the hill, Alpine Developments completed the Summit and village T-bars in time for the winter of 1961.

GULLY CHAIR IN LATE 1960'S BUILT 1964, ITS A BIT BETTER THESE DAYS

It was these lifts which really propelled Falls Creek from being only a romp for enthusiasts to the first stages of a proper ski resort. In the 60's and 70's lifts were built in the front and back bowls (Sun Valley T-Bar in 1967, Eagle Chair in 1980).

In 1983 the ownership of the Lift Company changed and since then over $18 million has been spent in developing some of the finest ski facilities in Australia.

The Falls Creek Resort Management (formerly the Alpine Resorts Commission) that now has management responsibility for Falls Creek, was established in 1984 following the proclamation of the Alpine Resorts Act during 1983.

 

VILLAGE BOWL IN 1948 NOT A TREE TO BE SEEN

MAYBE SKIING DOES LESS DAMAGE THAN WE THINK

On the weekend of September 26 and 27 1999 a back to Falls Creek weekend was held, the guest of honour on that weekend was Toni St Elmo. His wife Skippy wrote her memoirs ensuring many of the early history and memories will be kept for future generations of skiers.

FALLS CREEK 1970 THE DEVELOPMENT STARTS TO TAKE SHAPE

The ski lifts each have their own history, this is a list of all of the tow's and lifts built in Falls Creek and when they were built or removed