ROCK BOLTING

Five out of the nine articles presented in full in Written Works (each marked *) illustrate the major contribution made by Dan Moye to the development of rock bolting. Soon after the 1956 rockfall in Tumut 1, Dan was chosen by Associate Commissioner Thomas Lang to lead a Snowy team of physicists, engineers and geologists as they carried out rock mechanics research in the laboratory and underground. This work led rapidly to new types of bolts and bolting systems, which provided both temporary and permanent support in all subsequent Snowy tunnels and underground buildings.

Engineer-Historian Walter Mills has compiled an interesting booklet ‘The Snowy Men behind Tunnel Rock Bolting’, pictured right. For each of 20 Snowy men he includes a small photo and an account of their contributionto the research, or application, of rock bolting. This document can be purchased using the application form here.

Walter Mills also discovered and conserved, a large outcrop of granitic rock at Lambie Gorge, Cooma, which was used by the Snowy researchers to do bolt strength and ‘pullout’ tests, between 1956 and 1962. Engineering Heritage Australia has declared this site a National Heritage Landmark. The site can be reached by a walking track from the Snowy Mountains Highway (see Lambie Gorge flyer - right).

Order The Snowy Men Behind Tunnel Rock Bolting by Walter Mills here

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