The Australian town erased for its own good
Wittenoom
Contaminated by decades of blue asbestos mining, Wittenoom became so toxic that the government stripped it from official maps and road signs to keep people from moving there.
Wittenoom, in Western Australia's remote Pilbara region, was once a thriving mining town built around one of the world's richest deposits of blue asbestos, known as crocidolite. Mining operations ran from the 1930s through 1966, employing hundreds of workers and their families who had little idea that the fibers filling the air around them would prove lethally toxic. Decades later, Wittenoom is remembered as one of Australia's worst industrial disasters, with an estimated 2,000 or more people who lived or worked there eventually dying from asbestos related diseases including mesothelioma. The contamination was so severe and so persistent that the Western Australian government took the extraordinary step of officially degazetting the town, removing its name from maps, stripping road signs pointing to it, and disconnecting its power and services, effectively trying to erase it from existence to discourage anyone from moving there or visiting. Today only a tiny handful of holdout residents remain, living in a town the government does not officially acknowledge, surrounded by tailings piles that still release dangerous asbestos fibers into the wind.
A boom town built on poison
Blue asbestos mining began in the Wittenoom Gorge area in the 1930s, and the town grew rapidly once the Australian Blue Asbestos company expanded operations after World War II. At its peak in the 1950s, Wittenoom had around 20,000 residents pass through over its lifetime and was the only significant source of blue asbestos in Australia, making it economically important despite early warning signs about the health dangers of asbestos dust that were largely ignored or suppressed by mine management.
A public health catastrophe
Blue asbestos fibers are especially thin and easily inhaled deep into the lungs, making crocidolite among the most dangerous forms of asbestos known. Miners, their families, and even children who played in the piles of tailings scattered throughout town were exposed for years. Long after mining ceased in 1966, cases of mesothelioma and asbestosis continued appearing among former residents and workers, ultimately linked to well over 2,000 deaths, making Wittenoom one of the deadliest industrial legacies in Australian history.
Erased from the map
In an unusual move, the Western Australian government formally degazetted Wittenoom in stages starting in 2006 and continuing through 2007, stripping its official town status, removing it from state maps, and taking down road signs directing travelers there. Authorities disconnected electricity to the remaining properties in 2006 and progressively bought out and demolished homes to discourage settlement in the contaminated area.
A ghost town that still exists
Despite these efforts, a small number of residents have refused to leave, continuing to live in Wittenoom without official government services or acknowledgment. The surrounding gorge remains popular with some adventurous tourists and thrill-seekers despite warnings, since tailings containing asbestos fibers are still scattered across the area and can become airborne, posing an ongoing health risk to anyone who visits.
Fun facts
- Blue asbestos mined at Wittenoom is linked to more than 2,000 deaths.
- The government formally erased the town from official maps starting in 2006.
- Electricity to the town was deliberately disconnected to discourage residents.
- A handful of holdout residents still live there despite no official recognition.
- Asbestos tailings from the old mine can still become airborne and pose a hazard today.
Gallery
Sources
Other interesting places
View all →
Featured lists
View all lists →
Compare cities, side by side
Choose any 2 cities →
Text on this page is original Terralocate editorial. Background facts compiled from the public sources listed above. Images via Wikimedia Commons under their respective licenses (typically CC BY-SA or public domain).