Thirty years ago Midnight Oil sang about the human and environmental devastation caused by asbestos mining in the remote Western Australian town of Wittenoom.
Today, tourists are drawn to the inspiration for the 1990 hit single Blue Sky Mine and the chart-topping album Blue Sky Mining, wile two residents still live at the contaminated site.
The rest of a population that totalled 20,000 through its heyday long ago abandoned the area, which has been taken off maps and is no longer marked by road signs.
The Wittenoom mine which once exported blue asbestos to the world was closed in 1966 and is blamed for causing the deaths of at least 2000 workers and their families who breathed in the deadly fibres.
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The Wittenoom mine which once exported blue asbestos to the world was closed in 1966 and is blamed for causing the deaths of at least 2000 workers and their families who breathed in the deadly fibres. The town in Western Australia’s Pilbara region is abandoned
Thirty years ago Midnight Oil sang about the human and environmental devastation caused by asbestos mining in the remote Western Australian town of Wittenoom (pictured)
Exposed asbestos residue, known as tailings, pose a significant threat to any visitor’s health but ‘keep out’ signs (pictured) posted all around the site are routinely ignored
The mine and the town built to support its operation have been described as forming the largest contaminated industrial site in the Southern Hemisphere but Wittenoom has become an unlikely and dangerous tourist attraction.
Two residents are holding out against Western Australian government urgings to get out and thousands of curious travellers who drive through the Pilbara each year are unable to resist making the trek to the ghost town.
Blue asbestos – properly known as crocidolite, was dug out of Wittenoom with little or no care for decades before the full extent of its dangers were known.
It is considered the most dangerous kind of asbestos, with straight, needle-like fibres that are easy to inhale.
While crocidolite was the third most used asbestos type in Australia, it has been responsible for more asbestos-related deaths than any other type.
Blue asbestos was widely used in pipe insulation, thermal insulation and rope lagging, and found in cement sheets, fire-proofing ceiling tiles.
A population that peaked at 20,000 in the 1960s long ago abandoned the area, which has been taken off maps and is no longer marked by road signs. Pictured is asbestos shovelling competition during the mine’s heyday
Visitors still flock to the ghost town to photograph the run-down Doc Holiday’s Cafe, a gem shop with a caved-in roof, abandoned cars and homes, and the barren land it all sits on
Wittenoom is about 300km south of Port Hedland and 1,400 north-east of Perth in the iron ore-rich Hamersley Range. The declared contaminated area covers 50,000 hectares
Wittenoom is about 300km south of Port Hedland and 1,400 north-east of Perth in the iron ore-rich Hamersley Range. The declared contaminated area covers 50,000 hectares.
Exposed asbestos residue, known as tailings, pose a significant threat to any visitor’s health but ‘keep out’ signs posted all around the site are routinely ignored.
Asbestos had been produced in the region since the 1920s and in April 1943 a mine was established in the Wittenoom Gorge by CSR – the ‘sugar refining company’ in the Midnight Oil song.
The Western Australian Government provided housing, a school, post office, hospital and police station as well as water supply tarring the road connecting the road to the mine.
CSR built a hotel, general store, butcher, bakery, cafe, library and further accommodation. Wittenoom even had its own race track and it hosted events such as an asbestos shovelling competition.
About 7,000 workers toiled at the asbestos mining and milling operation and 13,000 other residents, mostly women and children, lived in the town.
Blue asbestos – properly known as crocidolite, was dug out of Wittenoom with little or no care for decades before the full extent of its dangers were known. It is considered the most dangerous kind of asbestos, with straight, needle-like fibres that are easy to inhale
The mine and the town built to support its operation have been described as forming the largest contaminated industrial site in the Southern Hemisphere but Wittenoom has become an unlikely and dangerous tourist attraction
It has been a long time since Wittenoom offered holiday homes, tourist information, a gallery or souvenirs
According to the Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia, the processed fibre was transported to Point Samson 330km away in open trucks.
The blue asbestos was then stored in sheds and loaded onto ships. About half the Wittenoom production was sold overseas.
During its 23 years of operation the Wittenoom mine sent 150,000 tonnes of asbestos for export.
CSR closed the mine in December 1966 claiming a lack of profitability and failing asbestos prices. The following year blue asbestos mining was banned.
Absestos-related deaths of those who lived and worked at Wittenoom were first recorded in the 1960s and the toll continues to climb.
Studies suggest at least a quarter of the people who worked in the mine will eventually die of mesothelioma or another asbestos-related disease. CSR closed the mine in December 1966 claiming a lack of profitability and failing asbestos prices. The following year blue asbestos mining was banned.
CSR closed the mine in December 1966 claiming a lack of profitability and failing asbestos prices. The following year blue asbestos mining was banned. A mine worker is pictured hand bogging in 1959
Blue asbestos – properly known as crocidolite, was dug out of Wittenoom with little or no care for decades before the full extent of its dangers were known. The bagging plant is pictured
A man is seen posing in front of a sign on the edge of town, warning of the dangers within
In December 2006, the Western Australian Government announced the town’s official status would be removed, and it was de-gazetted the following year.
A Wittenoom steering committee met in 2013 to finalise closure of Wittenoom, limit access to the town and raise awareness of the risks of entering.
By 2015 there were six residents remaining; that number had dropped to four two years later. Two people are now hanging on.
Last year Daily Mail Australia reported authorities were begging tourists to stay out the town, saying just breathing the air there could kill.
Visitors still flock to the deserted town to photograph the run-down Doc Holiday’s Cafe, a gem shop with a caved-in roof, abandoned cars and homes, and the barren land it all sits on.
Tourists continue to flock to Wittenoom (pictured), despite the town being so heavily contaminated with asbestos that thousands of its former residents have died
A Wittenoom steering committee met in 2013 to finalise closure of the town and raise awareness of the risks of entering. By 2015 there were six residents remaining; that number had dropped to four two years later. Two people are now hanging on
Wittenoom has been taken off maps and disconnected from the power grid, but defiant tourists continue to visit
The images show families holidaying, groups of friends camping out, and tourists swimming in a nearby lake – sometimes with their pets.
Many also share pictures of the warning signs advising them not to enter.
Most don’t mention in their captions the deadly contaminants in the air, or reference the issue at all.
Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Lands, Ben Wyatt, told Nine Honey last year there was still a terrifying amount of asbestos in the air, and the town would never again be safe to visit.
Warnings signs noting that high levels of asbestos in the air could cause cancer or lung disease feature heavily in Instagram shots of the area
The former mining town is popular with ‘extreme tourists’, who travel to physically dangerous places for kicks
He said when the Wittenoom mine closed there were three million tonnes of asbestos tailings left behind in the gorge and surrounding area.
‘Exposure to a single fibre of these tailings could prove fatal,’ he said.
Mr Wyatt said no amount of money or time would allow the town to be cleaned to a point where it would be acceptable for human habitation.
‘I have a simple message for anyone thinking of travelling to Wittenoom,’ he said. ‘Don’t.’
‘These warnings signs are not there for decoration or to add your Instagram collection. They are serious warnings about serious health consequences.
‘I can’t stress enough that it is particularly foolish to travel to Wittenoom. There are plenty of gorges in WA which do not bring with them the threat of a fatal consequences.’
This couple captioned their image ‘rolling in the blue’, which may have been a reference to the blue asbestos which was mined in Wittenoom
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