The Day Family – Snowfields Pioneers

Our latest publication  The Day Family – Snowfields Pioneers by Peter Southwell-Keely  is now available in our bookshop.

It is now 73 years since George Day and his family left their positions as managers of the Chalet at Charlotte Pass.  In the meantime, the sport of skiing, the skiing industry and ski resorts have evolved to such an extent that a skier from the 1930s or 1940s, returning to earth today, could scarcely believe the changes that have taken place. Thus it is easy to forget that all our current progress has been built on the backs of pioneers such as the Days.
George and Eva Day managed the Chalet at Charlotte Pass from 1932 to 1949 when it was one of only two ski resorts in the Kosciuszko area, the other being the Hotel Kosciusko, and all the major championships, alpine and nordic, state, national and international occurred at the Chalet. It was a time of great development during which George and Eva faced several extensions of the Chalet, the building of the ‘ski hoist’, the Chalet fire and rebuild, problems of oversnow transport, building the spur road to the Chalet, rebuilding the ‘ski hoist’, lost and injured skiers, unbooked skiers and the war years. During this time George became the best alpine skier in Australia and produced a triple alpine Olympian, son Bill, and two Australian representatives, son Gordon and daughter Margaret.

• 80 pages
• 21×21 cm Soft cover
• Historic Photographs
• Fully Indexed
  ISBN: 978-0-646-89456-0