Australian ghost town removed from maps but visitors keep flocking in

Saturday, July 13, 2019

Wittenoom was wiped down from maps and stayed inaccessible from the power grid in 2007 when locals were compelled to run away leaving everything behind them. Thousands of deaths were associated to the blue asbestos operations of the 1960s of the town.

However in spite of the warnings, sightseers are carrying on to flock there in another example of so-called ‘extreme tourism’. Images portray families on vacations, groups of friends camping out and tourists swimming in a nearby lake. Few have taken pictures of the warning sign advising them to keep out.

Among the crumbling town’s famous sights are Doc Holiday’s Cafe, scores of abandoned cars and homes gathering dust, and the desolate land beneath it all. Ben Wyatt, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Lands, informed 9Honey that when the mine closed, there were three million tonnes of asbestos residue – or tailings – left in the area. Exposure ‘to a single fiber of these tailings could prove fatal’, he added. The sheer scale of the problem means no estimate of cleaning it up has even been made. But Mr Wyatt said the government could spend billions trying and the area would still be unsafe.

‘Therefore, as disappointing as it is, it is virtually impossible to clean the area to a level where it would then be considered safe for human habitation,’ Mr Wyatt said. ‘I have a simple message for anyone thinking of travelling to Wittenoom. Don’t. ‘These warning signs are not there for decoration or to add your Instagram collection. They are serious warnings about serious health consequences.’ Mr Wyatt emphasized that travel into the town ‘is particularly foolish’ and advised that ‘there are plenty of gorges in WA which do not bring with them the threat of a fatal consequences’.

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