Women Hounoured As Faces Of Thredbo

As Thredbo Resort became a thriving snow holiday destination, families and their businesses largely shaped its growth and atmosphere behind the scenes.

In the 1960s, accommodation in the Village was predominantly lodges, with new entrepreneurs building their own lodges and futures. Children were born and raised, all while their parents attended to the lodge duties of housing and feeding guests.

At the Thredbo Alpine Museum’s winter dinner in late August, four key women were inducted as the Museum’s Faces of Thredbo, an Honour Board that recognises those who have made significant contributions to skiing and/or the development of Thredbo as an alpine resort. The dinner was sold out with 150 guests attending.

Ann Koeman, Beryl Clifford, Dawn Lucas, and Pam Hughes all made major contributions to Thredbo in its early days. At the dinner, their stories were told in more detail by relatives about their part in Thredbo’s History.

Thredbo Alpine Museum's co-president Errol Hanlon welcomed the crowd for their attendance and said, “Our goal is to maintain the history of Thredbo and Skiing, and snowboarding in later years”. He thanked Thredbo and patron Alan Rydge for their ongoing support of the Thredbo Alpine Museum and the Kosciuszko Room venue for the evening.

Beryl Clifford

The Clifford family have become synonymous with Thredbo, and it was Beryl Jean Clifford’s (Thomas) love for skiing that brought the family to Thredbo. Born in January 1928, Beryl started skiing early in life at the Hotel Kosciusko and the Chalet. After World War II, Beryl moved to England and met and married fellow Australian Victor (Vic) Clifford. Vic was a pilot during the war; Beryl had completed several years of medical training and worked in labs before becoming an air hostess.

The couple returned to Australia in early 1957 with their four children, all born in England within a two-and-a-half-year period. They soon purchased a block of land in Newport and built their home. Victor was flying for Qantas at that time.

Beryl’s love of skiing led them to build and operate a commercial lodge in Thredbo, Winterhaus, which is just below the Alpine Way. Like all commercial lodges in Thredbo at that time, guests were treated to dinner, bed and breakfast. They operated the lodge from 1960 to 1974, and during this time the Clifford family became avid skiers with all four children, Jamie, Kerry, Kim and Steven competing at different levels, with Steven and Kim representing Australia at the Olympic Games. Kim Clifford would become Thredbo’s General Manager and was a Face of Thredbo in 2020.

After selling Winterhaus to the Francis family, they purchased the next-door property, Puddenweg (Clifford Lodge, Pure Chalet), which Kerry (daughter) operated for many years as a luxury lodge. Beryl and Vic had a waterfront property next to the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club in Newport from the mid 1960’s, and Victor became an avid sailor, campaigning 5.5-metre yachts around the world. Vic passed away in 1988. Beryl remarried Alan Smith, and they continued to live in Newport and continued to ski until the age of 93. Alan passed away in 2024. Beryl lived in a lifestyle village in Avalon and passed away in June 2025.

Daughter Kerry and son Jamie both spoke about their mother on the evening.

Kerry Clifford said she was "So proud to be here with all these wonderful ladies, most of them are not currently here."

We moved to Thredbo, and we had the most wonderful upbringing, especially with Jane Lucas, who was my best friend, we used to carry dolls around. We were so, so lucky to have been in those early days. We had parents that loved us and looked after us, and brought us up in an environment that was amazing," said Kerry.

Jamie Clifford recited some of his mother's history, saying she skied at the Chalet when she was young, and when they left Thredbo the family purchased a farm in the Hunter Valley. When his father passed away, she toured Australia before remarrying. He complimented all the other women who were recognised that evening.

Dawn Lucas

Originating from Brisbane, Dawn married Michael Lucas, a Royal Navy man, following him across the high seas before finding “home” in Thredbo. Having never skied, the couple bought Alpenhorn Lodge on a whim, captivated by the village and surrounding beauty and uniqueness, where they created a safe haven to raise their children.

Within a few years, despite having no prior cooking experience, Dawn was soon cooking for up to 50 guests. Visitors returned year after year in winter, drawn to her warmth and genuine interest in others. She wholeheartedly embraced village life, leading Christmas carols with Cees, chaperoning private school children from Sydney during the August school holidays, and meticulously crafting elaborate costumes for family and staff for the annual Fancy Dress party, where the main rivals were cousins at the Silver Brumby Inn.

In the summer, she welcomed many Eastern European families who returned repeatedly, captivated by her hospitable nature. While Michael was the quiet, hardworking achiever behind the scenes, Dawn was the absolute glue that held everything together.  Michael and Dawn would eventually move to Merimbula.

“We had a truly amazing childhood. For all of us, our deep love of the mountains and our rich exposure to people from all over the world in this tiny village is entirely thanks to the bold decision our parents made all those years ago,” said daughter Jane Jacobs.

"Thank you for choosing to honour my mother Dawn, and the other Faces of Thredbo, Beryl, Pam and Ann, who is still with us," said Jane Jacobs speaking at the dinner.

"Present here also tonight are six of her grandchildren, lots of cousins, and my daughter keeps mentioning I just met someone who’s my cousin."

"I hasten to add, although our mother was very front of house, she couldn’t have run Alpenhorn without our father Michael, Micky to some. They were a team and the yin and yang worked perfectly for the running of the lodge for all those years."

Pamela Mary Hughes

Pam was the daughter of Royal Navy Officer Frederick Lucas and his wife Sylvia. She was one of five siblings who grew up in France and the UK. She met her husband John Hughes, an RAF pilot, in the early stages of WW2 and they married in 1940. The family emigrated to Australia in 1961 and settled in Newport, NSW, whilst John looked for suitable employment.

He was successful in his application to Lend Lease for the position of General Manager of the new Thredbo Village ski resort. After 12 months, John and Pam decided to take advantage of the rapidly growing village resort and build their own commercial ski lodge. With the assistance of Bela Racsko, a local builder and lodge owner, they leased a site and built The Silver Brumby Inn, opening for the 1963 winter season. At around the same time, Pam's brother, Michael Lucas, and his wife, Dawn, purchased the Alpenhorn Lodge in the village.

It was a family business, with all members contributing their time and effort to the general running of Silver Brumby. Pam took on the role of 'head chef', whilst John managed the general administration, maintenance and staffing. Due to health issues, the couple had to either sell or find another solution.

Son Martin, an RAF pilot who had remained in England, emigrated to Australia in 1973 to take over management of the Inn until 1984. John passed away in 1989, aged 73 and Pam passed away in July 2013, aged 94.

Son Martin Hughes said there are a lot of heartfelt sentiments going out there. “We have two tables here of cousins, first cousins, second cousins, all sorts of people who haven’t seen each other, met each other, and this event has brought us all together,” said Martin. He also shared interesting stories about the village and how he met his wife in Thredbo.

Ann Koeman

Ann Lawes, after travelling overseas for three years, arrived in Thredbo in 1961 to be bridesmaid to her best friend, Bev Waterman. She came to live and work in the village in the winter of 1962, first as secretary to John Hughes, the General Manager of Kosciuszko Thredbo, and then Charles Pelc, who was in charge of the old ‘Lodge’ which was situated where Squatters is now and contained the operational office, small shop, bar, restaurant and accommodation. When Lend Lease started its construction programme, Ann then worked as secretary to Albert van der Lee of Kosciuszko Thredbo, based at the Valley Terminal.

Ann and Cees Koeman married in 1963 and in 1966 took on the task of building Kasees Lodge, only the second commercial apartment lodge at the time, with Bela Racsko as architect and builder. It was quite a challenge and feat. The foundations were commenced on 1 March 1966, and Kasees Lodge opened some 4 months later on 22 July 1966, with carpenters still screwing fittings on the day the first guests arrived!

During the 1970’s, Ann was involved in the Thredbo Resort Association, Thredbo Chamber of Commerce, Thredbo Resort Centre, Sub-lessees Association and Kosciuszko National Park Advisory Committee, as well as having two children and running Kasees Lodge with Cees.

Also, that decade, Ann was central to a campaign to get the Alpine Way sealed. This was a continuous struggle, with decisions being passed between local and State government, from Department to Department, between the Premier and various Ministers.

“When I was pregnant with Annelisa and had to travel down to the district nurse down in Jindy, the potholes around Wollondibby were so huge, filled with water, the water splashed up under the car and actually stopped my car. Even to get it sealed up until Thredbo made a huge difference,” said Ann, commenting on the Alpine Way.

In 2026, Ann is still active in the operation of Kasees Lodge.

Ann Koeman’s daughters, Annalisa and Melanie, spoke on behalf of Ann, offering their mother's insights. They commented on Ann's history of arriving in the village, first visiting Thredbo in 1961 to be a bridesmaid to her good friend Bev Waterman, and at the wedding met her future husband, Cees Koeman.

When the company's engineer was sacked for a chairlift incident, his girlfriend also resigned from her secretary position. Bev and Cees both rang Ann in Sydney to say the secretary's job was available, and Ann moved to Thredbo (64 years ago). Ann worked for John Hughes, Pam Hughes's husband and the general manager at the time.

Melanie said, "Mum, thanks for taking the courageous leap along the potholed dirt road to come to Thredbo 64 years ago so we could be mountain girls, the best childhood ever. Along with many in this room and those not with us, we feel privileged, blessed, lucky to call this village home. Mum, we know you feel deeply about community and it feels very strong in this room tonight. You’ve shared a really good life with many women".

Thredbo general manager Stuart Diver said, "What a wonderful night, and so good to acknowledge four so important women and what they contributed to Thredbo. It is all about the people, and it always has been, and that’s what makes tonight so special, it’s about sharing those stories about people".

Mr Diver also announced plans to install Thredbo's new 6-seat Gunbarrel chairlift for winter 2028, if all planning is approved. The board has approved the funds.