Wittenoom, Western Australia

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Wittenoom
Western Australia

Population:

Established:

1930s

Location:

241 km from Newman

LGA:

Shire of Ashburton

Mean Max Temp	Mean Min Temp	Rainfall
32.8 °C ^{91 °F}	19.7 °C ^{67 °F}	453.7 mm ^{17.9 in}

Wittenoom (22°15′S 118°20′E) is a town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia about 1,106 km north north east of Perth. During the 1950s, Wittenoom was the Pilbara's biggest town, but was shut down in 1966 due to health concerns from asbestos mining at the nearby Wittenoom Gorge. Today it is a ghost town with approximately 6 residents^[1], who receive no government services and do not pay rates to the Shire of Ashburton. In December 2006, the Government of Western Australia announced that the town would be degazzetted. The town's name will accordingly be removed from official maps and road signs.

1 History
2 References
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] History

Wittenoom was named by Hancock after Frank Wittenoom (1855-1939) who was his partner in the nearby Mulga Downs Station. The land around Wittenoom was originally settled by Frank Wittenoom's brother, politician Sir Edward Horne Wittenoom.

Lang Hancock discovered Wittenoom Gorge in the early 1930s and in 1937 started mining blue asbestos (crocidolite) there. In 1943 the mine was sold to a CSR Limited subsidiary, Australian Blue Asbestos Pty Ltd. By the late 1940s there was a need for a nearby townsite to house the mine workers and their families, and this was gazetted in 1950. The following year CSR requested the town name be changed to Wittenoom Gorge, and in 1974 it was changed back to Wittenoom.

From 1950 until the early 1960s Wittenoom was Australia's only supplier of asbestos with 161,000 tonnes being mined. During that time 20,000 men, women and children lived and worked in Wittenoom. Since then, over 1,000 people have died from asbestos-related diseases including asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. The National Health and Medical Research Council estimates that the final death toll will eventually rise to over 2,000.^[2]

Despite ongoing risks associated with airborne asbestos fibres, around 20-25 residents still remained in early 2006, defying the Government of Western Australia's removal of services and stated intention to demolish the town. The old school and post office was reportedly being used by residents as a meeting place, while a caravan park accommodates visitors, a gem shop functions as a tourist agency, and some tour buses still visit, although this is strongly discouraged by the state's Tourism Commission. On 30 June 2006, the Government turned off the power grid to Wittenoom. However, no residents left the town, or took up the government's offer to buy their houses for up to A$39,804.

In December 2006, Minister for the Pilbara Jon Ford announced that Wittenoom's status as a town would be removed, but that the town's six remaining residents would be allowed to stay^[1].

Wittenoom is close to a number of spectacular gorges in the Hamersley Ranges and Karijini National Park.

The Midnight Oil song, Blue Sky Mine, was inspired by the town and its mining industry[1], as was 'He Fades Away' by Alastair Hewlett.