Wittenoom wiped from the map...

Had a few technical issues, but here is some footage of the town formally known as Wittenoom now basically totally demolished.
Wittenoom was gazetted in May 1950 and degazetted in June 2007.
Finally demolished May 2023.

[@arthurdunn1452]

Asbestos all over Australia,Australian 🇦🇺 Gov had knowledge of the problem's it caused, fibro sheets, plpes it is everywhere, I have a problem with it,worked as an Electrician on and off since 1965,it is now April 2024.Shame on Aussie Gov.

[@WesternAustraliaNowAndThen]

When we first saw it in 1995 the town was almost intact. So sad to see it has been finally wiped from the face of the Earth.

[@BugbugAdventures]

So glad i was able to document this in 2021 and share it with everyone before it got knocked down

[@michaelaylmore611]

Instead of knocking dwn the remaining houses in Wittenoom which WERNT tbe issue why didnt the actual tailings at mine get cleaned up ?

[@shiftpigrail]

Cost and politics...

[@nilssona2158]

Wow, yep, gone- Doc Holiday's Cafe and all.

[@Twenty_Six_Hundred]

No doubt the sickness caused was tragic, although removing history is also a terrible circumstance. The fact it will take a lifetime to clean up the mines tailings, yet they haven't even started cleaning. Knocking down buildings is the bare minimum and nothing but a pathetic attempt to show the public they have done something. The mine sites are full of littered blue asbestos and the real area they should be cleaning. The town itself was far lower of a threat yet they're trying to make it look 'clean' when if anything they have made it worse which is now a deceiving and silent threat.

[@busicupernibus8365]

Mario Hartmann - last resident - had to move somewhere else?

[@shiftpigrail]

He wasn't the last, he moved out a few years ago, down south.

[@holdenbrougham1056]

So sad to see them tear history down and attempt to make the past go away , people will still travel out there and most knew not to disturbing anything or making dust , and there's the others that do touch stuff bad luck the devil may have cursed you in time hopefully not , I can understand why the are attempting to make people unaware of the town Wittenoom, they don't want people going in and getting sentence to death , well sadly you can warn them but the choice is there own , and if travel is done carefully in damp conditions you should be perfectly fine to go there to Wittenoom, but never go inside the mine that's a certain dose of devil dust can be seen on camera lenses drifting around in air waiting for a lung to catch it

[@NinoJoel]

Traveling there even when it rained is never safe under any circumstances if you don't wear proper respiration gear

[@gasgaslex_photos]

Sad, the WA Govt did a number on this town

[@TS50ER]

Australia?

[@shiftpigrail]

Indeed, the inland Pilbara region of Western Australia...

[@TS50ER]

@@shiftpigrail The 1990 Midnight Oil song, 'Blue Sky Mine' is about this disaster. I never knew that.

[@TheEnzedone]

Wow, this must be recent. Mining collapse?

[@TS50ER]

Just been reading about it. There was an asbestos mine there back in the 1930s and the whole area is contaminated.

[@danozism]

@@TS50ER Some brief info on the town's history- The town of Wittenoom was originally a company town built for the nearby asbestos mine in the 1950's and 60's. Many migrants from Europe arrived there seeking a better life, after the horrors of World War 2 and its aftermath. It was not common knowledge that asbestos was dangerous to people's health at the time. Asbestos tailings were used throughout the town for a variety of purposes, including the paving of roads, children's 'sandpits', and obviously for insulation in all the buildings in the town. The mine was closed in 1966, as the deadly effects of asbestos dust inhalation began to become more evident. Amazingly, the town lived on throughout the 60's and 70's, before the population started to drop off in the 80's. It is estimated that 2000 mine workers and town residents have either died or been seriously affected by asbestosis and mesothelioma. Wittenoom was officially delisted as a town in 2007, with phone lines and essential services to the town cut off, and residents were offered pay-outs for the approximate worth of their properties. It wasn't until 2021/22 that the last three remaining residents were forcibly removed by the Western Australian government. The full demolition of the town commenced in early 2023, after a bushfire destroyed many buildings in December 2022.

[@shiftpigrail]

The final resident of Wittenoom was evicted in Sept 2022, the other two legitimate residents had already excepted buyout packages prior to this date and had moved out. The 'bush fire' destroyed a house where squatters were living and the former convent and guest house several hundred metres away to the west of that house. The demolition of the town proper, this time around, started in April 2023. The bizarre part is the airstrip is not blocked off, or will it be remediated at this stage and yet it is totally covered in asbestos fibres that form the runway. The houses are built from mainly white asbestos sheeting, not the blue that was mined in Wittenoom.

[@danozism]

@@shiftpigrail Well I was on the right track at least.