Wittenoom – Wittenoom, Australia - Atlas Obscura
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Wittenoom

Wittenoom, Australia

A town whose main resource was blue asbestos... what could possibly go wrong? 

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The abandoned Doc Holiday's Cafe in Wittenoom. Five Years/CC BY-SA 3.0
The abandoned Doc Holiday's Cafe in Wittenoom. Five Years/CC BY-SA 3.0
Warning sign near the entrance to town. Five Years/CC BY-SA 3.0
The Wittenoom Gem Shop. Five Years/CC BY-SA 3.0
Mine tailings near Wittenoom in Western Australia. Five Years/CC BY-SA 3.0 (Creative Commons)
Road sign where Wittenoom, Western Australia has been removed Five Years/CC BY-SA 3.0
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The Australian mining town of Wittenoom became a boomtown producing the lung-punishing mineral asbestos. Today, it is mostly abandoned, after the government tried to scratch the town quite literally off the map.

The government tried to phase out the township by making it basically inaccessible—painting over its name on street signs and erasing it from maps. However there are still a few stubborn holdouts in the toxic ghost town. There were around six residents in 2015, who,  although their power had been turned off and they had to drive many miles for municipal services, chose to remain in Wittenoom. 

Know Before You Go

As of 2022, the final residents have been evicted and demolition of the town has begun.

abandoned mines mines ghost towns abandoned
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