Wittenoom Gorge, Western Australia
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Wittenoom Western Australia |
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 Wittenoom
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| Coordinates | 22°15′00″S 118°20′00″E / 22.25000°S 118.33333°ECoordinates: 22°15′00″S 118°20′00″E / 22.25000°S 118.33333°E | ||||||
| Population | 3 (2016) | ||||||
| Established | 1950 | ||||||
| Gazetted | Degazetted June 2007 | ||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6751 | ||||||
| Location | 140 km (87 mi) from Tom Price | ||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Ashburton | ||||||
| State electorate(s) | North West Central | ||||||
| Federal Division(s) | Durack | ||||||
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Wittenoom is a ghost town 1,106 kilometres (687 mi) north-north-east of Perth in the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The area around Wittenoom was mainly pastoral until the 1930s when mining began in the area. By 1939, major mining began in Yampire Gorge, which was subsequently closed in 1943 when mining began in Wittenoom Gorge. In 1947 a company town was built, and by the 1950s it was Pilbara's largest town. During the 1950s and early 1960s Wittenoom was Australia's only supplier of blue asbestos. The town was shut down in 1966 due to unprofitability and growing health concerns from asbestos mining in the area.
Today, three residents still live in the town, which receives no government services. In December 2006, the Government of Western Australia announced that the town's official status would be removed, and in June 2007, Jon Ford, the Minister for Regional Development, announced that the townsite had officially been . The town's name was removed from official maps and road signs and the Shire of Ashburton is able to close roads that lead to contaminated areas.
The Wittenoom steering committee met in April 2013 to finalise closure of the town, limit access to the area and raise awareness of the risks. Details of how that would be achieved were to be determined but it would likely necessitate removing the town's remaining residents, converting freehold land to crown land, demolishing houses and closing or rerouting roads. By 2015 six residents remained; in 2016 the number dropped to three.
Wittenoom was named by Lang Hancock after Frank Wittenoom, his partner in the nearby Mulga Downs Station. The land around Wittenoom was originally settled by Wittenoom's brother, politician Sir Edward Horne Wittenoom. By the late 1940s there were calls for a government townsite near the mine, and the Mines Department recommended it be named Wittenoom, advising that adoption of this name was strongly urged by the local people. The name was approved in 1948, but it was not until 2 May 1950 that the townsite was officially gazetted. In 1951 the name was changed to Wittenoom Gorge at the request of the mining company, and in 1974 it was changed back to Wittenoom. The mine closed in 1966, and the townsite was officially abolished by gazettal in March 2007.
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