Interview with Tony Guseli (Part 1)

In our first show for 2026 and part of our summer special series Vittorio speaks to Tony Guseli about his research on the 29 Italian men who died in industrial accidents working on the construction of the iconic Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electric Scheme.

Tony is the nephew of one of these men, Antonio Guseli, who died in the worst multiple fatality accident on the scheme on 16 April 1958. In that accident, four young Italian men lost their lives.

A total of 121 men were officially declared to have died in industrial accidents during the Snowy Scheme's construction, including 27 Italian migrant workers. Tony's research has found that another two Italian men died in the early years of construction who are not recorded in the official total.

Through his extensive research, including obtaining archival material, migration records and coronial inquests, Tony aims to tell the broader collective story of these post-war migrant workers.

As part of his research project, Tony also has the specific mission and goal to provide the contemporary relatives of these men with the archival documents he has obtained and encourage them to contribute to telling their collective story. 

As his work progresses Tony plans to extend his research to all the 121 men who died on the Snowy Scheme.

Listeners who may know these men or their relatives or have a connection to the Snowy Scheme can contact Tony by email at guselitvg@bigpond.com or via his page detailing his research: Rememering the workers of The Snowy Scheme​​​​​.

Tony has provided us with the names and details of the men together with their photos here and in Italiano here.