Blue sky bio-hazard
Posted Wednesday, November 21, 2007, 7:17 PM by Lonely Planet
Australia: blue skies, big open brown spaces, lots and lots of minerals and one, particularly nasty one...
Chrysotile was once mined to make asbestos - a popular, cheap housing material used in Australia in the 50s, 60s and 70s. Now, it's widely known that asbestos is highly toxic and leads to nasty lung related diseases, including cancer.
The mine site was in Wittenoom; a town by the same name servicing the workers of what was a booming industry. But since discovering the hazardous effects of asbestos, Wittenoom's been deserted. Situated in the Pilbara region in northern Western Australia the area still appeals to many travellers - and quite rightly. The gorges and waterfalls of nearby Karijini National Park are naturally spectacular.
Iconic 80s Australian rock band, Midnight Oil released the album Blue Sky Mining in 1987, featuring a track, Blue Sky Mine which cut to the core of the mining industry and made Wittenoom infamous. Its lyrics still resonate with miners and their families who've lobbied their incredibly wealthy ex-employers for justice and compensation to cover medical costs and damages.
"So I'm caught at the junction still waiting for medicine
The sweat of my brow keeps on feeding the engine
Hope the crumbs in my pocket can keep me for another night...
And the company takes what the company wants
And nothing's as precious
As a hole in the ground..."
Where as once curiosity may have seen you risk a side trip to Wittenoom it's no longer possible. It doesn't exist. It has been decommissioned, taken off the maps, the electricity - switched off.
So if you're looking for somewhere to stay try the two campsites in Karijini National Park or the Auski Tourist Village on the Great Northern Highway
And in an interesting aside, if the Labor party (currently in opposition) wins government at the Australian election this weekend, then ex-Oils frontman, Peter Garrett (member for Kingsford Smith) will be the new Minister for the Environment. It will be interesting to see if he stays true to his activist roots.
Labels: Asia and Pacific, Breaking travel news, Sustainable and responsible tourism, Travelsnitch
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4 Comments:
Stays true to his activist roots!?! I think Garrett has already come to far for that what with supporting the Gunns mill in Tasmania.
On a family trip round Australia in the '80s, our car broke down in Wittenoom and we were stuck there for nearly a week. I loved the t-shirt I bought: 'Wittenoom is Gorge-ous'. But the thing I remember most is Karinjini Gorge, mindblowingly beautiful even for a 13-year-old.
Oh yeah, also, what anonymous said - PG has well-and-truly ditched activism.
I also went to Wittenoom with my family in the '80s. We visited the mine and I was terrified that my dad was going to catch cancer because he found the deadly blue stuff so interesting and picked it up.
Interesting place, a shame it's been shut down.
As for the Karijini - I've been back since and it lived up to all of my memories. Definitely one of the most beautiful places in Australia.
I now live in Wittenoom and have read all the Government and scientific reports which show that there is minimal risk to humans in the town now that the mine has ceased operations. This beautiful place needs now to be cleaned up by responsible Governments so that future generations can enjoy this piece of paradise. But Governments are dancing to mining companies tunes who want to mine this region, so Garrett time you vocalised the truth and conservation is what is needed here not blind ignorance and lies.
Welcome to paradise... my Eden.
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