Wittenoom: Australia's Blue Asbestos Ghost Town

The Town That Shouldn’t Exist

In the remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, 1,100 kilometers north of Perth, the ghost town of Wittenoom stands as a monument to corporate negligence and human tragedy. What was once a thriving mining community of several thousand people is now an officially erased place—removed from maps, stripped of services, and slowly being reclaimed by the harsh outback.

But the deadliest aspect of Wittenoom isn’t what remains. It’s what was taken away: the lives of more than 2,000 former residents and workers, with the death toll still climbing decades after the mine closed.

Blue Death in the Red Earth

The story begins in 1937, when mining began in the gorges of the Hamersley Range. The target was crocidolite—blue asbestos—the most dangerous form of the mineral. Its microscopic fibers are thinner than a human hair and, once inhaled, lodge permanently in lung tissue.

By 1943, the mine was operated by Australian Blue Asbestos (ABA), a subsidiary of the colonial conglomerate CSR Limited. Workers extracted the blue fiber from the gorge walls, milling it into a fine powder for export. The dust was everywhere.

A Company Town

Wittenoom was a company town in every sense. ABA built the houses, ran the general store, and employed most of the population. At its peak in the 1950s, nearly 20,000 people lived in the town or surrounding camps.

Workers came from across Australia and around the world, drawn by wages that were high for the era. Many were young men, recent immigrants from Italy and Eastern Europe seeking opportunity in a new land. Families followed, and children played in the streets.

No one told them they were breathing poison.

The Warnings Ignored

The dangers of asbestos were not unknown. As early as 1948, Western Australia’s Health Department expressed concerns about conditions at the mine. In 1958, a government inspector found that 50 percent of workers who had been employed for more than three years showed signs of asbestosis.

The warnings were ignored or suppressed. ABA executives knew the risks but calculated that safety improvements would cut into profits. Internal company documents later revealed that executives discussed the health hazards while doing little to protect workers.

Workers milled asbestos in poorly ventilated buildings. They carried the dust home on their clothes, exposing their families. Children used asbestos tailings as a playground, building sandcastles from the deadly fiber. The blue dust was used to surface roads, school yards, and the town’s racecourse.

The Mine Closes

By 1966, the mine was no longer economically viable. Global asbestos prices had fallen, and the seams were becoming more difficult to work. ABA closed the operation—not because of health concerns, but because of economics.

The company walked away, leaving behind approximately three million tons of asbestos tailings scattered across the landscape. The contaminated material remained in roads, buildings, and open pits. The deadly legacy was left for the wind to spread.

The Death Toll Mounts

The first mesothelioma deaths among Wittenoom workers were recorded in the 1960s. By the 1980s, the deaths had become an epidemic. Former miners, their wives, their children—all began developing asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma.

The numbers are staggering. Of the approximately 7,000 people who worked at the mine, over 2,000 are believed to have died from asbestos-related diseases. When residents and their family members are included, the death toll is far higher—and continues to grow today.

Erasing a Town

By the 1990s, the Western Australian government faced a dilemma: Wittenoom was contaminated beyond remediation, but a handful of residents refused to leave. In 2006, the government began systematically degazetting the town—removing it from official maps and cutting off electricity, water, and other services.

Today, road signs have been removed, the town no longer appears on GPS systems, and authorities actively discourage visitors. The government has demolished most remaining buildings and blocked access to the contaminated gorges.

Yet the contamination remains. Three million tons of asbestos tailings still blanket the landscape, and the fibers continue to pose a risk to anyone who visits the site.

The Legal Reckoning

CSR Limited fought asbestos claims for decades, denying responsibility and challenging victims in court. But as evidence mounted and public outrage grew, the company was forced to establish a compensation fund.

In 2023, Western Australian Premier Roger Cook announced a billion-dollar cleanup plan for Wittenoom, acknowledging the government’s own failures in allowing the contamination to persist for so long. The project aims to remove or contain the most dangerous asbestos deposits, though complete remediation remains impossible.

A Continuing Tragedy

The victims of Wittenoom include not just miners but entire families. Children who played in asbestos-laden schoolyards. Women who washed their husband’s dusty work clothes. Tourists who visited the scenic gorges in later decades, unaware of the invisible danger.

The youngest victims—those exposed as children in the 1950s and 1960s—are now reaching the age when mesothelioma typically manifests. The death toll continues to rise.

Lessons Unlearned?

Wittenoom stands as the worst industrial disaster in Australian history. It represents a total failure of corporate responsibility, government oversight, and worker protection. The pursuit of profit was placed above human life, with consequences that span generations.

The ghost town in the Pilbara serves as a warning—and a memorial. For the thousands who lived and worked there, who breathed the blue dust without knowing what it would cost them, Wittenoom will never be truly erased.