The end for Wittenoom?

We went there in the late 70's. We knew about asbestos but thought it a bit blown out of proportion. We took precuations. Drove through Wittenoom with the windows up and the air on recycle. Went to all of the tourist traps.

Now of course, we see people dropping like flys from this mongrel disease. We understand the latency of it. And I wonder all the time whether my wife and I have unwittingly given our children (now in their thirties) a death sentence?

I say close the joint down, lock it up and forget it ever existed. Even the Gorge. There are so many tailings and fibres there, it's just not worth the risk.

I say leave the track in open, put up waning signs and all that stuff and if people still feel the need to venture in there that’s their option.

I wouldn’t mind ducking in for a look next time I am up that way no doubt with a respirator on my face.

Cheers.

I have always had the feeling that the problem was very much over-rated.
I, along with a lot of my generation, worked with asbestos on construction sites and was often coated with the stuff and we did not have respirators either. I do not know of any person that I worked with who has had a problem. I do however know that a lot of my mates smoked and several of those smokers have had severe respiratory problems. I am not saying that asbestos does not cause problems, just that some people must be more susceptible then others. Just MHO

My mates aunty [94yrs old] has recently had both legs amputated and a breast removed. The doctor told her that if she gave up smoking she would live longer. ??? When pressed, he admitted that her health problems were not related to her smoking but more to her diet over the years.

The point I'm trying to make is that, where do you draw the line.
To stay healthy and live a long life basically means; dont eat, dont drink and dont breathe. Just about everthing in this world seems to be contaminated to some degree. I am aware of the risks of asbestos just as I'm aware of the risks of smoking, eating takeaway food, breathing exhaust fumes, talking on my mobile, drinking chinese beer the list would be as long as you would like to make it.

Educate people - yes. Warn people - yes. But please allow people to make their own judgements and be responsible for those judgements.

I would love to visit Wittenoom in the future as I would many other places.

Just the way I see it.....................Lionel.

We passed thru the day they buried Wittenoom - 12 months ago. Literally buried eveything including the generating plant. No access to Gorges. 50kms of road either side not graded, all signage removed. Florence Station great spot to camp.

Lost a brother in law to this stuff. He was a carpenter died at 54. He had no idea where he got it from,he said he could vaguely remember demolishing a building in London 20 odd yrs ago. But as they say what can you do.
Regards
Jim

Nah we do not see much in the local press about it other than the odd snippet from time time to time. You have to remember we only have one newspaper in WA so if something happens East of the Darling Range or further North than Geraldton it is unlikely to rate a mention. The Govt has been slowly removing all services from Wittenoom over time to put pressure on the remaining locals to leave. They no longer provide power or water, the Ashburton Shire no longer provides a refuse removal service (not sure if they still charge council rates though) and Telstra have moved the public phones several km down the road so their employees don't have to enter Wittenoom to service them. The Bureau of Meteorology no longer allow their employees to enter the town to service and calibrate their weather recording equipment there either. The chap, (in the picture in the article you provided the link to) Paul Fitzgerald still takes weather readings and forwards them to the BOM every 6 hours I think it is and Wittenoom is a fairly important weather station for the BOM because it has a long history of weather recordings which the other Pilbara mining towns don't having only been around since the 60's which in terms of weather historical records is not that long. Paul also owns the Catholic convent (part of it in the picture) and I have stayed there overnight and when I did he was charging a modest $10/night for a bed on the verandah. The Govt tried to "buy-out" as many properties as it could years ago including the Fortescue Hotel which a lot of controversy surrounded when it mysteriously burnt down?? Road signs and maps haven't had any reference to the town for years which is the Govts way of covering it's butt by not encouraging anyone to go there and pretending that it doesn't exist. Funny thing is with the new roads they have built from Auski Roadhouse and Tom Price and all the publicity and tourism surrounding Karinjini National Park and Karinjini is only a stones throw over the other side of the Hammersley Range to Wittenoom. Years ago the road from Karinjini to the old Wittenoom to Port Hedland Road via Yampire Gorge which was shortcut to Wittenoom was washed out in a flood and that road hasn't been re-opened either for obvious reasons, nor will you find it on any maps. All part of the Govt keep quiet keep out strategy. Before Karinjini was promoted and developed Wittenoom was the focal point of that area and you either entered the town from the East after turning off the old Mundiwindi to Roy Hill Road or from the South via Rio Tinto Gorge on the Nanutarra to Duck Creek Road or from the North on the Mt Herbert/Python Pool/Millstream/Port Hedland Road. Generally you stayed at Wittenoom at either the pub or one of two caravan parks while you toured Wittenoom Gorge, Yampire Gorge and Dales Gorge. You have to remember that Wittenoom was one of the greatest tourist attractions and scenic spots in that area in a time (sadly since passed) that there were few accessible maintained "roads" in that area and to go there for a holiday was not for the faint hearted or anyone who couldn't handle "roughing-it" with flat tyres and damage from wildlife commonplace and very few services to help anyone unfortunate enough to break down. Back then there was only one type of 4x4 in Australia and that was the good old Landy and no one from any city area would have had one as an everyday vehicle except for landowners and Geo's, etc. Sounds like I'm talking about the 1800's but actually it was only about 45 years ago.Towns such as Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Newman, Pannawonica, Dampier, Karratha, Wickham, just weren't there then because none of them had started mining operations so the sealed road network of today was not there either.

goodday all
just to ad a little doom and gloom but it only takes a few fibres to start the ugly death process it has been prooven that women who washed the husbands clothes after he worked with the asbestos have died of asbestosis
i personally have some pleural plaques in my lungs and have xrays every 12 mths and a full check up

1 fibre inhaled is enough to start the worst process people can go thru

steve

Exactly, Steve.

Never underestimate the power of this evil substance.