Really interesting history about that area in the 1950's.
There were some big snowfalls in the early fifties, I think 1956 was the biggest, I was five and had been in the mountains for three days in the Autumn of '56 with my father, as we left the season broke, we had trouble getting out near where Tooma Dam is today. Many stock were lost that were on the Alpine leases, caught by the early season, we never had a snow lease, although some relatives did, I think they lost some calves, the sheep men were hardest hit. The cattle started to walk out as best they could, generally they knew when to come out and would often walk all the way back to where they wintered in the valleys where we lived in the normal seasons.